421Born prematurely when his mother heard of the approach of the Spanish Armada,
Thomas Hobbes often quipped that he was born “a twin with fear.” Hobbes saw
much to fear in his long life. He observed a civil war, the execution of Charles I,
and periods of great political and social upheaval. On more than one occasion, he
was forced to flee England, and he often feared for his life. It is not surprising,
then, that he developed a political philosophy emphasizing fear of death and the
need for security.
Hobbes was born in Malmesbury, Whiltshire, England, the son of a disreputable
vicar. His father was forced to leave the Whiltshire area after brawling outside his
church. Young Thomas was sent to live with a rich uncle. At the age of 14, he went
to Oxford University. Like Descartes, he found most of his schooling to be a waste
of time. He particularly disliked the Aristotelianism of his college, Magdalen Hall.
In 1608, he became the tutor to the son of William Cavendish, Earl of Devonshire.
For the rest of his life, Hobbes remained a friend of the Cavendish family and a
royalist sympathizer.
Hobbes made several extended visits to the Continent—some voluntary, some a
result of running for his life. At home and on the Continent, Hobbes met and con-
versed with leading thinkers such as Descartes, Galileo, and Bacon. Although he, of
course, had differences with them, he nevertheless used each thinker’s ideas to refine
his own philosophy. From Descartes, he learned to value the geometric method.
Descartes used geometry to establish epistemological certainty. Hobbes used geome-
try to develop a political theory. In opposition to the dominant Aristotelian thesis that
rest is the natural state of objects, Galileo had proposed that all bodies are naturally in
motion. Hobbes took Galileo’s postulate and proceeded to argue that all things in the
world, including human beings, are bodies in motion. With Bacon, Hobbes agreed
that scientific knowledge was primarily useful for improving the human condition.THOMAS HOBBES
1588–1679