Thomas Hobbes
BY ELIZABETH RILEY
Facts
- Best known for his book, Leviathan.
- He was academically gifted.
- Hobbes was born April 5, 1588. He died December 4, 1679.
- He served as a tutor for many aristocratic families.
Symbol
I believe a heavily-jeweled crown is a good symbol for how Hobbes thinks government should be.
A monarch is a sole ruler, and the crown displays this nobility well.
Beliefs
- Believed strongly in absolute monarchy.
- He believed that humans are primitively, at their core, selfish beings.
- He believed that in an anarchy, people would constantly be at war with each other without an end.
- He did not trust anyone but a single monarch to rule the land. However, he did believe that the monarch should rule fairly.
- He believed people should not be able to have a right to rebel.
Again, Hobbes believes strongly in an absolute monarchy. He believed that this one person would prevent chaos, and maintain order and peace among his land.
He believed that humanity was bad at its core, and that having a sole soul for a government was well beyond good enough.
He was strongly against anarchy, however. Going back to his pessimistic view of life, he thought that an anarchy would end in needless and vain bloodshed and warfare- which he was more than likely right about.
I put for the general inclination of all mankind, a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.
He that is taken and put into prison or chains is not conquered, though overcome; for he is still an enemy.
-Thomas Hobbes