Thomas Hobbes left behind compositions that immortalized his name. He was a fair man, famous for his scholarship both in England and far beyond the borders of his homeland. Even enemies and scientific opponents considered Hobbes a complete personality, admiring his powerful intellect and remarkable wit.
From the biography of Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes was born in 1588 in England, in the county of Gloucestershire. The father of the future philosopher was a parish priest, quite quick-tempered and not too educated. Hobbes was brought up in the family of his uncle. At the age of 15, Thomas went to study at Oxford University. He graduated in 1608. Having received a brilliant education at that time, Hobbes was well versed in ancient literature, knew the main languages.
In 1610, Hobbes became the mentor of Lord Gardvig, descended from the aristocratic family of William Cavendish. Subsequently, his student became the patron of Hobbes. Rotating in aristocratic circles, Thomas made acquaintance with Francis Bacon, Ben Johnson, Herbert Charbersi. Hobbes traveled a lot in Italy, where in 1636 he met Galileo Galilei. In 1637, Hobbes returned to his native England.
The Views of Thomas Hobbes
The formation of the views of Hobbes was influenced by Galileo, Descartes, Kepler, Gassendi.
Thomas Hobbes was able to create a complete system of materialism, which is fully consistent with the spirit of the times and the level of development of scientific knowledge of that era. Hobbes polemicized with Descartes, rejecting the existence of thinking substance. Ideal examples of scientific thinking for the philosopher were mechanics and geometry.
Hobbes represented nature as a set of bodies having a length in space. However, Hobbes materialism was mechanistic. For example, he understood movement only as the movement of bodies in space.
The philosopher also contributed to the development of epistemology: he distinguished between two methods of cognition - logical deduction and induction.
Thomas Hobbes is also known as the creator of the "contractual" theory of the state. He believed that the state is the result of a special arrangement between people who were originally created equal. The tasks of the state include ensuring the safety of citizens and peace in society. Hobbes believed that the church and religion should be subordinated to the state.
