Thomas Hobbes
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries
- Categories: Government and Politics, Philosophy, Literature, Publishing
- Subcategories: Authors, Writers, Philosophers
- Curriculum: British History, Renaissance History, 17th Century European History
Article abstract: A pioneer of modern political principles, Hobbes wrote the English language’s first great work of political philosophy.
Early Life
There is a self-generated folklore regarding Thomas Hobbes’s birth and the relation of that birth to his political ideas. According to Hobbes’s autobiography, his mother was much alarmed by the approaching Spanish Armada. This led to his premature birth on April 5, 1588. Thus, Hobbes claimed to have been born with an especially keen aversion to violence; he and fear were born twins, according to...
[The entire page is 3136 words long]
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