Leviathan

Born in Westport, England, in 1588, Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher often regarded as “the founding father of modern political thought.” (Williams, Garrath. “Thomas Hobbes: Moral and Political Philosophy.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.) The ideas he expounded in 1561’s Leviathan helped ignite a centuries-long dialogue in Western thought about the natural state of humankind and the purpose of government, informing the works of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and persisting as a source of debate to this day.

Hobbes’s anxiety over war and civil unrest can be traced to his very birth, when his mother went into premature labor upon hearing of the imminent invasion of the Spanish Armada. Later, Hobbes would say his mother “gave birth to twins: myself and fear.” (Hobbes, Thomas. Opera Latina. London: British Library. 2011.) Moreover, Hobbes’s critical opinions of excommunication practices and the undue influence of clergy members is foreshadowed by his father’s exile from his home region following a dispute with a church official.

Upon receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cambridge around age 20, Hobbes became a tutor for the son of the 1st Earl of Devonshire, William Cavendish, igniting a lifelong friendship with the family. Given Cavendish’s other son’s strong ties to King Charles I during the English Civil Wars, Hobbes’s connection with the Cavendish family may have exerted a subtle influence on the Royalist sympathies he professes throughout Leviathan.