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Philosophy of
Thomas HobbesRey Ty
Northern Illinois University
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Hobbes•Thomas Hobbes
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Hobbes•1588-1679
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Hobbes
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Hobbes•English materialist philosopher
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Hobbes•17th century English Revolution influenced him
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Hobbes
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Hobbes•Mechanistic materialism
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Hobbes•Focused more on mechanical or mathematical geometry than physical motion.
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Hobbes•The world is the sum total of bodies governed by the laws of mechanical motion.
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Hobbes•He reduced to motion & effort the psychic life of humans & animals.
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Hobbes•He said these complex mechanisms are governed by outside effects.
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Hobbes•From the above, he inferred that: 1) souls don’t exist as special substances
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Hobbes•2) Material bodies are the single substance
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Hobbes•3) God is only in the human imagination
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Hobbes
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Hobbes•He rejected Descartes’ theory of innate ideas.
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Hobbes
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Hobbes•He inferred all ideas come from sensations.
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Hobbes•He rejected theories of the divine origins of society.
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Hobbes•He advanced the social contract theory.
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Hobbes
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Hobbes•While he favored absolute monarchy as the best form of state…
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Hobbes
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Hobbes•His countless explanations & reservations gave room for the possibility of revolution.
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Hobbes
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HobbesSocial Contract
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Hobbes•His ideas don’t focus on monarchistic principles per se, but on the unrestricted character of state power.
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Hobbes
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Hobbes•Powers of the state are compatible with interests of the classes which waged the bourgeois revolution in the 17th century England.
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Hobbes
© 2013 Rey Ty
Philosophy of
Thomas HobbesRey Ty
Northern Illinois University