Thomas Hobbes, whose photo is presented in the article, was born in Malmesbury in 1588 on April 5th. He was an English materialist thinker. His concepts have spread in such scientific fields as history, physics and geometry, theology and ethics. Consider further what Thomas Hobbes became known for. A brief biography of the activist will also be described in the article.
History reference
Thomas Hobbes, whose biography is filled mainly with work on his writings and the formulation of concepts, was born prematurely. This was due to his mother's anxiety as the Spanish armada approached England. Nevertheless, he was able to live to be 91 years old, maintaining clarity of mind throughout his years. Education this figure received in Oxford. He was interested in maps, travel sailors. The ideas of Thomas Hobbes were formed under the influence of prominent thinkers of his time. In particular, he was familiar with Descartes, Gassendi, Mersenne. At one time, he worked as a secretary for Bacon. Conversations with him had far from the last impact on the views of Thomas Hobbes. He was also interested in the writings of Kepler and Galileo. He met the latter in Italy in 1637.
Thomas Hobbes: biography
According to the worldview, he was a monarchist. From 1640 to 1651. Thomas Hobbes was in exile in France. Its basic concepts were formed under the influence of the bourgeois revolution in England. Returning to this country after the end of the civil war, he broke up with the royalists. In London, Hobbes tried to ideologically substantiate the political activities of Cromwell, whose dictatorship was established after the revolution.
Human issues
Thomas Hobbes was very close to the events of his time. His main idea was the peace and security of fellow citizens. Society issues have become a central element in the work that Thomas Hobbes began. The main ideas of the thinker concerned human issues. At the very beginning of his work, he planned to publish a trilogy. In the first part, the body was to be described, in the second - a person, in the third - a citizen. The first volume, however, was the last one conceived. The treatise "On the Citizen" was published in 1642. The work “On the Body” was published in 1655, and three years later the part “On the Man” was published. In 1651, Leviathan was published - the most voluminous and significant work that Thomas Hobbes created. Philosophy (briefly and generally) was described by him in the initial chapters of the work. The rest of the discussion addressed issues of social and state structure.
Thomas Hobbes: A Brief Concept
The thinker complained about the insufficient progress of his predecessors. His work was supposed to correct the existing unsatisfactory situation. He set the task to establish the elements that will become the basis for the development of "true" and "pure" science, provided that the proposed method is used. So, he suggested the prevention of erroneous concepts. Thomas Hobbes focused on the importance of methodology in the field of scientific knowledge. These thoughts resonate with the worldview of Bacon, who opposed scholasticism. It should be said that interest in the methodology was characteristic of many figures of the 17th century.
Specificity of thought
It is difficult to name any one specific area of science, adherent of which was Thomas Hobbes. The philosopher of the thinker, on the one hand, was based on empirical research. On the other hand, he was a supporter of the use of the mathematical method. He applied it not only directly in exact science, but also in other fields of knowledge. First of all, he used the mathematical method in political science. This discipline included a body of knowledge about social status, which allowed the government to form and maintain peaceful conditions. The specificity of thought consisted primarily in the use of a method derived from Galileo's physics. The latter applied mechanics and geometry in the analysis and prediction of phenomena and events in the physical world. Thomas Hobbes transferred all this to the sphere of the study of human activity. He believed that when establishing certain facts about human nature, one can single out ways of behavior of individuals in specific circumstances. People, in his opinion, should be studied as one of the aspects of the material world. As for human inclinations and passions, they can be investigated on the basis of physical movements and their causes. The theory of Thomas Hobbes was thus based on the principle deduced by Galileo. He argued that everything that exists is matter in motion.
Essence of the concept
The surrounding world, nature, Hobbes regarded as a complex of extended bodies. Things, their changes, in his opinion, occur because material elements move. He understood this phenomenon as mechanical displacement. Movements are transmitted using a push. It provokes an effort in the body. It, in turn, goes into motion. In a similar way, Hobbes interprets the spiritual life of humans and animals, consisting of sensations. These provisions express the mechanical concept of Thomas Hobbes.
Cognition
Hobbes believed that it is carried out through "ideas." Their source are exclusively sensory perceptions of the world around. No idea, Hobbes believed, could be innate. Moreover, external feelings, among other things, acted as knowledge in general. The content of ideas cannot depend on human consciousness. The mind is active and processes thoughts through comparison, separation, connection. This concept formed the basis of the doctrine of knowledge. Like Bacon, Hobbes focused on an empirical interpretation, joining the sensualist position. He believed that in the human mind there is not a single concept that would arise initially partially or entirely in the sensory organs. Hobbes believed that the acquisition of knowledge is carried out from experience. From the sensations, in his opinion, all science proceeded. Rational knowledge, he considered the matter of feelings, false or genuine, expressed in words, and language. Judgments are formed through a combination of linguistic elements denoting sensations, beyond which there is nothing.
Mathematical truths
Hobbes believed that just thinking about the facts would be enough for thinking in ordinary conditions. However, this is very little for scientific knowledge. This area requires necessity and universality. They, in turn, are achieved exclusively by mathematics. It was with her that Hobbes identified scientific knowledge. But he combined his own rationalist positions, which are similar to the Cartesian ones, with an empirical concept. In his opinion, the attainment of truths in mathematics is carried out by words, and not by direct experience of feelings.
The importance of language
Hobbes actively developed this concept. He believed that any language acts as the result of human agreement. Based on the positions of nominalism, words were called by names, which are characterized by conventionality. They appeared for him in the form of an arbitrary label with respect to any thing. When these elements acquire general significance for a group of people that is solid to one degree or another, they go into the category of name-signs. In Leviathan, Hobbes said that for a person seeking the exact truth, it is necessary to remember the designation of each name that he uses. Otherwise, he will fall into the trap of words. The more people spend their energy to get out of it, the more they will become entangled. The accuracy of the words according to Hobbes should be determined by the definitions by which the ambiguity is eliminated, but not by intuition, as Descartes believed. According to a nominalistic concept, things or thoughts can be private. Words, in turn, can be shared. However, the “common" in the concept of nominalism does not exist.
Motion source
Ontological views, through which the world was explained, came across certain obstacles. In particular, difficulties arose in the question of the source of movement. As him, God was declared in Leviathan and the treatise On Citizen. Subsequent movements of things, according to Hobbes, occur regardless of him. The views of the thinker, thus, diverged from the prevailing religious ideas at that time.
Problems of mechanical materialism
One of them was the understanding of man. Hobbes regarded his life as an exclusively mechanical process. In it, the heart acted as a spring, nerves as threads, joints as wheels. These elements communicate the movement of the entire machine. The human psyche was fully explained mechanically. The second issue was free will. Hobbes in his works answered him quite clearly and directly, in accordance with his principles. He said that everything happens because it is necessary. People are part of this causal system. At the same time, human freedom cannot be understood as independence from necessity. He said that the movement of an individual to the desired can have no obstacles. In this case, the action is considered free. If there are any obstacles, then the movement is limited. In this case, we are talking about external problems. If something inside a person prevents the achievement of the desired, then this is not regarded as a restriction of freedom, but appears as a natural shortcoming of the individual.
Social sphere
It takes up a lot of space in Hobbes philosophy. The Leviathan and the treatise On Citizen are devoted to the social aspect. Following some humanists, he focused on the role of the individual in society. Chapter 13 of the Leviathan describes the “natural state” of people. In it, that is, by its nature, people differ little in ability from each other. At the same time, Hobbes believes that the human being and nature itself are neither evil nor good. In a natural state, all individuals exercise the natural right to preserve life and avoid death. "The happiness of existence" is the constant success of the fulfillment of desires. However, it cannot always be a calm contentment, because, according to Hobbes, life does not exist without feelings and needs. The natural state of people is that when moving towards the desired, each person encounters a different individual. Striving for peace and security, people are constantly involved in conflicts. In his natural state, man follows the natural laws of self-preservation. Everyone here has the right to everything that he is able to obtain using force. This situation is interpreted by Hobbes as a war against everyone, when "a man is another wolf."
State formation
This, according to Hobbes, can contribute to a change in the situation. To survive, each individual must transfer part of his original freedom to the subject. He will exercise unlimited power in return for peace. People give up part of freedom in favor of the monarch. He, in turn, alone will ensure their social cohesion. As a result, the state of Leviathan is formed. This is a powerful, proud, but mortal creature that is the highest on Earth and obeys divine laws.
Power
It is created through a social contract between the participating individuals. Centralized power maintains order in society and ensures the survival of the population. The treaty gives a peaceful existence in only one way. It is expressed in the concentration of all strength and power in the assembly of certain people or in one individual, which could bring all the will of citizens into one. Moreover, there are natural laws that limit the influence of the sovereign. All of them, according to Hobbes, 12. However, they are all united by one thought that one should not do another that a person would not want to be realized in relation to himself. This moral norm was considered an important self-limiting mechanism for constant human egoism, which forced others to reckon with it.
