"If men are naturally in a state of war, why do they always carry arems and why do they have keys t o lock their doors?", "All mankind (is in) perpetual and restless desire for power...that (stops) only in death."

Hobbes was born at Westport England in 1588. Hobbes led a sheltered life, he was educated by his uncle who was a tradesman and an alderman of Malmesbury. At the age of 15 he was sent to Oxford.

Hobbes was a contemporary of philosophers Descartes, and Galileo, and their discussions led to his philosophies on life. His philosophical work consisted of three treatises dealing with body, human nautre, and society.

In 1651 he published his greatest work, Leviathan, where he describes the state as an organism analogous to a large person. In his brief introduction to the Leviathan, Hobbes describes the state as an organism analogous to a large person. He shows how each part of the state parallels the function of the parts of the human body. He notes that the first part of his project is to describe human nature, insofar as humans are the creators of the state. To this end, he advises that we look into ourselves to see the nature of humanity in general. Hobbes argues that, in the absence of social condition, every action we perform, no matter how charitable or benevolent, is done for reasons that are ultimately self-serving.

Hobbes marked a departure in English philosophy from traditional religious thought. Hobbes contended Humanism, brought anarchy, but instead of the realism, he utilized rational ideas to provide an orderly life. He deeply admired authority, and held that the King ruled under divine right.

In general, Hobbes was distrustful of humans whom he believed to be inherently selfish, and feared the revolution which dominated England during the revolt against Charles I. Hobbes felt that people could not be trusted as individuals, that their inherent "evil impulses" would triumph, and that man had to have a representational government (dominated by the king) to prosper. He is regarded as an important early influence on the Unitarianism philosophical doctrine

Publications

Leviathan

De Homine

Elements of Law Natural and Politic