AP+Thomas+Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

//Karen Cooper// Thomas Hobbes’ main audience was scientists and amateurs of the Royal Society. He believed that “ If humanity is to live in peace, then it must enter into a contract with the sovereign power and exchange most of its natural freedom for the security of civil peace, which the sovereign supposedly guaranteed. ” This put him in an awkward position because P arliamentarians declined absolute monarchy and the Royalists were upset because the consent of the government could be withdrawn at any time. (ABC-CLIO). The higher class was his audience more often because Hobbes dealt with politics often and the higher class was the one that decided on politics. So Hobbes aimed for their attention in hopes of changing the world towards his beliefs. Scientists sided with him because Hobbes was no hypothetical man. He was strictly factual. Christians were not a fan of his because he criticized humanities self-interest and selfishness. (Britannica).
 * AUDIENCE**

Works Cited: Britannica. "Thomas Hobbes." //Oregon State University//. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. “Thomas Hobbes." //American Government//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.

// Jeanne Torres //
 * AIM **



 Hobbes sees the human race as very selfish and he doesn’t trust them to make their own decisions, knowing that their actions would be driven by either pain or desire. Thomas Hobbes made his points known to prove that humans by themselves were not reliable in their decision-making and that is why it was so important for them to embrace science and politics. One article stated, “ Thus, as long as human beings have not successfully arranged some form of government, they live in Hobbes’s state of nature” (Duncan). Essentially if people live without “some form of government” then they will run wild and they will not be able to keep themselves civil and sane, this is why Hobbes aims to convince society that government is a good thing (Thomas Hobbes). Although many thought of Thomas as and atheist and a pessimist at the time he was simply trying to mold society into being more realistic. On article conveyed this by stating, “And all the time, we will remember Hobbes’s reminder that human life is never without inconvenience and troubles, that we must live with a certain amount of bad, to prevent the worst: fear of violence, and violent death” (Williams). Basically Hobbes worked to make it clear that life will always have “inconvenience and troubles” and this is what really makes life worth living. Without any kind of inconvenience a person’s life would be full of fear and unhappiness because everything would seem horrible in comparison. At the time that Hobbes came up with all of this he was seen as crazy and many called him an atheist, but as time went on more and more people began to understand his points and follow what he had to say, that people need guidance and bad things are going to be a natural part of life no matter what (Duncan).

Works Cited Duncan, Stewart. "Thomas Hobbes." //The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy//. Stanford University, 2009. Web. 14 October 2011. "Thomas Hobbes." //American Government//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. Williams, Garrath. "Hobbes: Moral and Political Philosophy." //Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.// University of Tennessee at Martin, 2005. Web. 14 October 2011.

// Lauren Rosen // Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher who had a great impact on the culture of his society. He believed that "we will better understand how individuals interact in groups if we understand how individuals work" (Duncan). Because of these beliefs in the understanding of how "individuals interact in groups," the social ideas of the time were questioned and changed. The "individuals" began to think about how they interacted with others. Furthermore, "his main concern is the problem of social and political order: how human beings can live together in peace and avoid the danger and fear of civil conflict" (Williams). Hobbes' "main concern" regarding "the problem of social and political order" questioned the norm of his society in which he lived. The "social and political order" was changed when his groundbreaking ideas were noticed. Because Hobbes questioned the "social order" and saw it as a "concern" demonstrates how he changed the social norms and influenced the cultural identity of the time.
 * CULTURAL **

Works Cited Duncan, Stewart. "Thomas Hobbes." //The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy//. Stanford University, 2009. Web. 14 October 2011. Williams, Garrath. "Hobbes: Moral and Political Philosophy." //Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.// University of Tennessee at Martin, 2005. Web. 14 October 2011.


 * HISTORICAL **



Thomas Hobbes likes to say that he was born with fear as a twin. He says this because, it is said that, he was born early due to stress and fear his mother suffered from due to the Spanish Armada quickly encroaching. This eventful start to his life gave Hobbes an almost sixth sense for violence, but it was not the only thing that would make Hobbes stand out from the rest ("Thomas Hobbes"). One article says, "Hobbes did not base his views on the divine right of kings, which provided many sovereigns with their justification for rule, but rather on the premise of expediency and consent" ("Thomas Hobbes"). During Hobbes' time it was a common thought that God was the one who decided who would have power, but this is not what Hobbes believed. This historical thought was one that Hobbes went against and allowed him to establish his views and present them to the public. The approaching war when Hobbes was born was not the only war to affect his life. "His exile was related to the civil wars of the time. Hobbes was associated with the royalist side, and might also have had reason to fear punishment because of his defence of absolute sovereignty in his political philosophy" (Duncan)." It was during this exile that Hobbes wrote Leviathan, his best-known political treatises. Without this exile he might not have been able to focus on his own political views.

Works Cited "Thomas Hobbes." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. Duncan, Stewart. "Thomas Hobbes." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 2009. Web. 14 October 2011.