He taught William Cavendish, who later became Count of Devonshire. He held this post with interruptions until the end of his life. Thomas Hobbes was a child prodigy, his enormous talents in logics and mathematics favored his educational development and he was able to attend an affiliated institute of the Oxford University at only 14 years.Īfter graduating from Oxford in 1608 with a bachelor’s degree, he became a tutor to the noble Cavendish family. These events depicted a great influence in Hobbes’ views and philosophies. Hobbes’ family faced times of fear and uncertainty due to the conflicts between the king and the parliament as well as the disputes between the many social groups. Thomas Hobbes was born in Malmesbury in the county of Wiltshire, England, the son of a simple country priest, in politically difficult times, because of the invasion of the Spanish Armada. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, The Epistle Dedicatory, Paris, April 15-25, 1651. For in a way beset with those that contend, on one side for too great Liberty, and on the other side for too much Authority, ’tis hard to passe between the points of both unwounded.” “I know not how the world will receive it, nor how it may reflect on those that shall seem to favor it.

The philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment and the political theorist of the Absolutism is probably best known for his 1651 book Leviathan that established the foundation for most of Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory.

On December 4, 1679, Thomas Hobbes passed away. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), Portrait by John Michael Wright

Thomas hobbes leviathan illustrated