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Thomas Hobbes - Online Term Paper

Thomas Hobbes

was an English philosopher who was lived from 1588-1679. He attended Oxford University where he studied classics. His occupation was a tutor, but he also traveled around Europe to meet with scientists and to study different forms of government. He became interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled, and what would be the best form of government for England. was the first great figure in modern moral philosophy.
Hobbes had a pessimistic view of people; he believed humans were selfish creatures who would do anything to better their positions. He also thought that people could not be trusted to make decisions on their own, and a country needed an authority figure to provide ...

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would prevent a king from being unfair and cruel. Hobbes coined the phrase, "Voice of the people," meaning one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views.
In 1651, wrote his famous work, "Leviathan" which put into writing his views on democracy and monarchy. In this work, he said that life in the state of nature is "nasty, brutish, and short" and without government, we would be living in this state of nature. Hobbes ideas that people should decide how they should be ruled set the stage for the "social contract" proposed some years later by John Locke. Society makes a kind of contract with itself to give power to a ruling body. In "Leviathan" Hobbes also said that nations are like people in that they are selfishly motivated, and that every country was in constant battle for power and wealth. He wanted people to stop fighting and relinquish control to a single ruler.
Hobbes idea's weren't just about government, though. He was one of the strongest opponents to ...

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Thomas Hobbes. (2005, December 11). Retrieved October 23, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Thomas-Hobbes/37854

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/11/2005 06:38:10 PM
Category: Biographies
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 513
Pages: 2

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