Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), a profound English philosopher, stands as one of the most influential figures in political theory, renowned for his uncompromising advocacy of absolute sovereignty.
His philosophy, deeply influenced by Galileo’s mechanistic view of the world, sought to establish a science of politics based on a thoroughgoing materialism. Hobbes believed that life itself is merely a motion of the limbs, and therefore, the commonwealth—which he famously called Leviathan—is an artificial man, a creation of art designed to bring order to human society.
His radical Royalist views, articulated in works like De Cive and Leviathan, were shaped by the turbulent political climate of the English Civil War, leading him to prioritize peace and security above all else.
Hobbes begins his philosophical journey by dissecting man as an individual. He argues that sensations are caused by the pressure of objects, and that qualities like colors and sounds are not inherent in objects but are motions within us. He applies the first law of motion to psychology, viewing imagination as a decaying sense.
Crucially, Hobbes was an ardent nominalist, asserting that only individuals exist and that universal concepts are merely names. He considered geometry the only true science, believing that reasoning is a form of reckoning that should start from clear definitions. He rejected self-contradictory notions like “incorporeal substance.”
⚔️ The State of Nature: A War of All Against All
Unlike most defenders of absolute government, Hobbes posited that all men are naturally equal. In a state of nature, prior to any government, every individual is driven by self-preservation to seek liberty and dominion over others. This leads to a “war of all against all,” where life is “nasty, brutish, and short.”
In this state, there is no property, no justice, and only “force and fraud are, in war, the two cardinal virtues.” To escape this intolerable condition, individuals enter into a social contract, agreeing among themselves to choose a sovereign authority to exercise unlimited power over them.
This covenant, for Hobbes, is not between the citizens and the ruler, but among the citizens themselves to obey the chosen power. They thereby surrender all their rights except those the sovereign deems it expedient to grant. There is, crucially, no right of rebellion, as the ruler is not bound by any contract.
👑 The Absolute Sovereign: A Mortal God
Hobbes preferred monarchy as the best form of government, though his arguments for absolute power applied equally to any form of government with a single, supreme, and unlimited authority. He believed that a divided power, as seen in the English Civil War, inevitably leads to anarchy.
The sovereign, whether a monarch or an assembly, holds absolute rights, including censorship and complete control over property. While acknowledging that a sovereign might be despotic, Hobbes argued that even the worst despotism is preferable to the chaos of anarchy. He believed that the sovereign’s primary interest is the preservation of internal peace and that rebellion, even if successful, sets a dangerous precedent.
Hobbes’s unflinching realism, his rejection of traditional moral and religious justifications for political authority, and his logical construction of the absolute state make him a foundational figure in modern political philosophy. His ideas continue to resonate in discussions about power, order, and human nature.
Source: Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. Simon and Schuster, 1945.
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