Hobbes; Background Flashcards
(39 cards)
Where and when was Thomas Hobbes born?
Wiltshire in 1588
What was happening when he was born?
At that moment, the Spanish Armada were coming and attacking the British Coast (Spanish fleet of 130 ships that wanted to invade England)
What happened to Hobbes’ mother during the Spanish armada?
She arguably went into labour prematurely due to terror of the Spanish Armada.
Hobbes says his mother gave birth to twins, why?
Hobbes and Fear.
What does his birth story alert us to?
That fear is central to how Hobbes thinks of the world and human nature.
Was Hobbes elite?
What was his father’s job?
No , not from an elite background; poor family.
His father had no profession, he was a drunk.
Who paid for Hobbes education?
His rich uncle.
Where did Hobbes go at the age of 14?
Oxford
What type of education would Hobbes have had?
humanist education.
List two subjects Hobbes would have done?
Classical history
Grammer
Moral philosophy
What did Hobbes later become suspicious of that he studied at school?
classical history.
What was the normal career path for someone who went to Oxford?
would become a clergyman, lawyer or tutor in an aristocratic house.
What profession did Hobbes follow?
Who did he spend his entire life working for?
Became a tutor and spent entire life working for earl of Devonshire.
What did his job give him a lot of time to do?
Study and think
What did he begin his writing career doing?
Translating Thucydides translation of war.
What was he interested in by Thucydides?
Interested in the fact that Athens loses great war against Bart because Athens is a democracy.
What did Hobbes think about democracy?
That its an unstable thing, tends to bad decisions
Who is it easy to fall prey to in democracy?
Demagogues who manipulate the demos
List two types of people that would have been alienated by Hobbes way of political thinking?
monarchists
republicans
democrats
any political affiliation in 17nth century.
Was Hobbes a monarch, a democrat or a nazi?
lolll
He was a monarchist
What was the traditional way of justifying absolute monarchy?
through divine right, kings rule by divine law, chosen by God.
Hobbes defended monarchy in a modern, secular way by suggesting …
that it’s all about self interest; individuals realise its in their individual interest to subject themselves to absolute political authority for protection/ self preservation.
His argument about monarchical government is motivated primarily by?
protection.
Should you have any loyalty for the monarchy regime?
Absolutely not, if not in best interest, you should transfer your loyalties.
