When1: 1642
When2: 1658
Who: Thomas Hobbes [Hobbes, Thomas]
What: philosopher
Where: England
works\ On the Citizen [1642]; Leviathan [1651]; On the Body [1655]; Elements of Philosophy [1656]; On Man [1658]
Detail: He lived 1588 to 1679 and was materialist, rationalist, and determinist.
Epistemology
Reason is about long-term goals and means to reach them. Emotions are about short-term goals.
Sense impressions are body motions and are the only consciousness contents. Imagination and dreams are decaying sense impressions. Sense impressions combine and transform {association, Hobbes} to give thoughts and memories. All thoughts are deterministic, either by association or by purpose.
Feelings and will result from combining pleasure, pain, self-preservation desires, and sense impressions.
True knowledge is mathematical and symbolic. Mathematics gives rational knowledge of material world. Object motions in space follow geometry. Perceptions are about object motions in space. Mind thinks by combining symbols, which are perceptions and words. Rational thought uses only words.
Mind uses space and time, but physical existence has no space and time.
Laughter comes from comparing self, or superior, to inferior {superiority theory}, to build up self and disparage inferior [1651].
Ethics
Pleasure is desire for more, and pain is aversion to something already present. Desire or love determines what is good for people. Aversion or hate determines what is evil. Therefore, morality is relative. People are mostly concerned with their desires and aversions and try to do what is good for themselves to stay alive and healthy. People have absolute right to take personal action for self-defense. Therefore, people's desires conflict. Morality is the means to achieve peace. Society must impose it. People accept it to maintain peace.
Will is desire or aversion that causes action. People always will the strongest desire or aversion. Different action choices are available, and wills choose among actions, but choices are deterministic. Freedom is only the fact that choice is available and that people have ability to act.
Fear causes religion.
Happiness is always succeeding or prospering. Happiness is only process, not state.
Law
Laws can gain peace and avoid war and crime, which are the main threats to individual lives.
People have right of self-defense but no other individual liberties.
Metaphysics
Universe contains only physical things. Religious and spiritual things are separate from material world.
Mind
Mental or psychological properties are about body matter motions.
Voluntary movements begin with insensible motion {endeavor}. Motion toward something is desire, and motion away is aversion.
Politics
People's main interest is self-preservation. State prevents continual war of self-interest among people and so is necessary for self-preservation. In state of nature, without law, there is no right or wrong. Left alone, state is anarchic. State's goal is order and stability.
The best way to achieve peace is in society with sovereign assembly or monarch. Sovereign makes and enforces laws to guarantee peace and maintain lives.
Sovereignty comes from the people, because power depends on the people's will. State is contract between ruler and people. People, who are all equal, agree among themselves to yield all power to one authority, the sovereign, chosen by majority. People give rights to sovereign to protect themselves. After this, people have no power or rights, except of self-defense and refusal to fight. People yield power to get more security and liberty. Otherwise, anarchy occurs.
After agreement, people do not have right to change it. Therefore, civil war never has justification.
Political-authority basis is sovereign authority. Sovereign powers and rights must be supreme. People must fear authority and so obey.
Sovereigns must be just, because people must follow law. States must use power to maintain rule of law and must use any means to reach this end {end justifies means}. Power provides stability and physical security for citizens. With no such power, person is against person, and life is "nasty, brutish, and short."
Monarchy has less favoritism, fewer private interests, secret advice, and stable policy, compared to legislature or multiple rulers. Honest monarchy keeps order and protects people.
There should be state religion and monarch or ruler should control church, because religious belief is arbitrary.
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Date Modified: 2022.0224