Thomas+Hobbes-+Girija+&+Caroline

Questions: //Where did he gain success? What was his impact on society? Why was he important?// __ABC CLIO MODERN ERA:__ __THE INTERNET ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY:__ __OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY:__ __STANFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY:__ Questions: //What did he do?// - Hobbes was a materialist philosopher - Promoted absolutism: little equality in society - "considered the founder of English moral and **political** philosophy" - ABC CLEO - Began tutoring the son of Sir Gervase Clinton of Nottinghamshire in 1629 - Pursued learning based on the [Greek and Roman] classics - Published his English translation of Thucydides which was intended to prove the English dangers of democracy - Developed developed the social philosophy on principles of geometry and natural science after meeting and consulting with Galileo
 * "Thomas Hobbes." //World History: The Modern Era//. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. <[]>.
 * Thomas Hobbes had the most success in England, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
 * His ideas had the most impact on order
 * He stressed civil peace, and the need to get over greed in human nature
 * Because his ideas reflected the fact that humans were disorderly and needed an absolute monarch to maintain order, his beliefs had the most impact in the main monarch, England.
 * His ideas were seen as atheist by some people, and with the religious conflict in England, he was respected for having the courage to say what he believed
 * He was also respected because he was a "social contract" thinker, which meant that he was working for the greater good of social order. In other words, even though some people thought he was atheist, the fact that he was working towards order still allowed him to be renowned.
 * "Thomas Hobbes: Moral and Political Philosophy". __The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.__ 2006. 1 February 2010. < [] >.
 * His impact is great, because he is considered the father of modern philosophy
 * His ideas that focused mainly around order, influenced governments.
 * He was the first to set standards for political debate as he came up with his arguments and ideas.
 * He started a long following discussion about humans and equality
 * His theses influenced philosophers after him, including John Locke.
 * A big part of his success was due to the fact that he was able to influence philosophies that evolved after his time.
 * "Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)". __Oregonstate.edu.__ No date. 1 February 2010. < [] >
 * He not only impacted society with his own beliefs, but also by supporting others' beliefs
 * He favored the ideas of Galileo over the classical humanism theories
 * His influence was due to his idea that human's should be more open-minded and learn to accept new things
 * He challenged old ideas about humanity right to the core, and that made him popular because people were looking for newer perspectives.
 * "Hobbes's Moral and Political Philosophy". __Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.__ 2008. 1 February 2010. <[]>
 * Gained major success from his book //Leviathan//, which explains all of his ideas and his life work
 * The book is known as his masterpiece that is a rival of the works of Plato, Aristotle, Locke, etc.
 * He was known because of his straight-forwardness, his shocking revelations and arrivals at points that shaped his ideas.
 * His political influence is greater than his social influence, and even though none of his ideas are actually practiced, he is respected because they influenced other philosophies that led to success

//What did he believe? -// Mortality of the soul- the soul dies - People are driven by selfishness and greed - Rejected Cartesian dualism: the human mind/soul cannot be identified with the physical body - Thought democracy was dangerous - **Main concern**- the problem of social and political order- wanted peace and wanted to avoid danger and civil conflict-- thought this was difficult because of the greed that he believed was embedded in humans - To avoid chaos, people should give up the freedom they have to a government that will ensure order-- strong government able to control rebellion - Idea of man "We are needy and vulnerable. We are easily led astray in our attempts to know the world around us. Our capacity to reason is as fragile as our capacity to know; it relies upon language and is prone to error and undue influence. When we act, we may do so selfishly or impulsively or in ignorance, on the basis of faulty reasoning or bad theology or others' emotive speech." - Garrath Williams, Lancaster Univeristy - Believed that happiness should not be expected between humans. Instead, people should just follow a strong government and hope for peace - Believed in the "new" ideals of Galileo and Gassend

//Why was he important?// - Explored new philosophies - Said to be the founder of political philosophy - Broke through previous standards and sparked new ways of thinking - Before, people often had the idea that breaking away from the government and conformity would bring happiness, but Hobbes believed that faith in the government would elicit peace and happiness (to an extent) - Thomas Hobbes' ideas and philosophies about politics and political order caused people to re-evaluate the system. Today, people either agree with Thomas Hobbes and worry about lack of structure and social order and doubt human judgment and morality OR disagree with Hobbes and trust human morality and judgment by embracing ideas and movements such as liberty, democracy, and justice.

__**Works Cited**__ "Cartesian Dualism." //Philosophy - AllAboutPhilosophy.org//. Allaboutphilosophy.org, 2002. Web. 02 Feb. 2010. .

"Thomas Hobbes." //Home page for Oregon State University//. N/A, n/a. Web. 02 Feb. 2010. .

"Thomas Hobbes." //World History: The Modern Era//. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. <[|http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com]>.

Williams, Garrath. "Thomas Hobbes -- Moral and Politcal Philosophy [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." //UTM.edu - The University of Tennessee at Martin//. Lancaster University, 2006. Web. 02 Feb. 2010. .

__FUN FACTS:__
 * "Calvin and Hobbes". __Wikipedia.__ Last modified 2 February 2010. 2 February 2010. < [] >.
 * The comic strip Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson had a basis off of the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes
 * The comic which was famous around the 1980's was about a six-year old boy, Calvin( named after John Calvin) and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes (named after Thomas Hobbes)
 * Contains a lot of political satire
 * The comic didn't mention specific political figures, but it had a range of political and cultural views
 * Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes (who he sees as alive) show the political views of Thomas Hobbes, such as opinion polls being biased and distasteful, in an innocent way.
 * The comic displayed parts of the belief that order must be in absolutism, which is Thomas Hobbes' belief, while at the same time things should be equal for everyone which is John Calvin's belief.