Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who lived from 1588 to 1679. He studied at Oxford University and developed theories about political philosophy and human nature. Hobbes believed that in a state of nature without government, humans would be in a constant state of war due to seeking power over others. To escape this, humans form societies through social contracts that establish sovereign authority like a monarch to maintain order and peace. Hobbes argued this absolute authority was the best form of government to restrain people's natural inclinations towards harming each other. His most influential work was Leviathan, published in 1651.

1. By:Dipta Chakma

2. Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes was born in London
in 1588. He received his college
education at Oxford University in
England, where he studied
classics.He was one of the founding
fathers of modern political
philosophy.He is also best known for
his political thought.
Hobbes traveled to other European
countries several times to meet with
scientists and to study different
forms of government.

3. • During his time outside of England, Hobbes became
interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled and
what would be the best form of government for England.
• In 1651, Hobbes wrote his most famous work, entitled
“Leviathan”.
• In it, he argued that people were naturally wicked and could
not be trusted to govern. Therefore, Hobbes believed that an
absolute monarchy- a government that gave all power to a
king or queen was best.

4. Hobbes’ Famous Writings
• The Elements of Law (1640)
• De Cive (On the Citizen, 1642)
• Leviathan (1651)
• De Corpore (On the Body, 1655 )
• De Homine (On Man, 1657)
• Behemoth (1682)

5. Equality among men
Hobbes believes that men are equal and this
equality is manifested in three ways:
1. Equality in the faculties of mind and body;
2. Equality of hope in achieving goals;
3. Equality in the exercise of man’s natural right
to self-preservation.

6.  Hobbes believes that the men are not exactly
equal, but the difference are not important
enough to matter.
He refuted Aristotle’s idea that man are
inherently equal.
 Hobbes says: Instead of inequality, one
finds a natural equality among men.
 Inequalities we find among men are results of
man’s resourcefulness.

7. Man the Social
Animal
Hobbes disagrees with Aristotle’s idea that man
is a social animal.
That man is destined to be part of some group
orassociation.
For Hobbes, man is not naturally sociable for if
he were, societies or communities will sprout
naturally

8. Societies are created by
men consciously
deciding
that they want to be part
of society.
Thus, they are product
Of agreements,
covenants

9. Man as Power Seeker
 Hobbes believes that man is not a God seeker as
Christian philosophers perceive, but a power seeker
Man is engaged in an endless pursuit of power
which end only in death

10. The Rationality of Man
They will treat each other as
competitors for the same
things and thus see one
another as enemies.
Thus,reason leads men to
enter into a social contract.
does not evolve naturally;
men enter society through
contract.

11. The State of Nature
The phrase “state of nature” refers to the
condition of men prior to the creation of societies.
It is the condition of the “men without
government, and without settled social living.”

12. Characteristics of the State of
Nature
“The life of man in a time
of war is solitary, poor ,
nasty, brutish and short.”
Leviathan-
Thomas Hobbes

13. The State of Nature
Since men treat each other as enemies, there is
always the tendency to engage each other in war.
In the state of nature, men are driven apart and not
drawn together.
This is why the life of man in the state of nature is
solitary.

14. The Social Contract
A social contract is an agreement or covenant
among men that they will transfer their natural right
to preserve themselves from sovereign entity.
The sovereign power can be one individual, an
assembly, or several individuals.

15. Characteristics of the Social
Contract
It has to be voluntary.
 must be mutually agreed upon.
It involves only the subject.
It does not require unanimity

16. The Sovereign Power
Hobbes explain that it is not enough that men agree
to enter into a covenant or contract for these are
only words and can easily be ignored.

17. can possess power
1. Sovereignty by
Acquisition
2. Sovereignty by
institution

18. The Sovereign Power and Its Rights
1) The Subjects cannot make a new contract or
covenant without the permission of the sovereign.
2) The sovereign cannot break the agreement.
3) Those who did not agree must now give their
consent since it is agreed upon by the majority.

19. 4) The subjects cannot punish the sovereign, or
worse, kill him.
5) The sovereign has the right to regulate the
doctrine.
6) The sovereign enjoys the power to prescribe the
rules governing property
7) The sovereign has the right to decide on conflicts of
law.

20. The “Right” to Resist a Bad
Government
Hobbes does not explicitly or overtly discuss
this right; it is only implied in his work.
While Hobbes did not explicitly speak or write about
such a right, traces of it can be found in
the “Leviathan”.

21. Is it done individually or collectively?
There is no collective will to speak of but only an
individual desire for self-preservation.
Thus, the behavior of the men in a state of
nature is based on decisions made by the individual
and by him alone.
Without the sovereign, they continue to be the
individualistic being they were prior to the contract.

22. Best Form of Government
Hobbes classification of government is based on
quantitative rather than qualitative categorization of
governments
What is good and evil varies from person to person;
he call the things he like as good and those which he
dislikes are evil.

23. Why Monarchy is best
He chooses monarchy over aristocracy and democracy
for practical reasons rather than for any perceived
moral or theoretical superiorty of this form of
governent.

24. Conclusion
He was the best known philosopher of his times.It
should be noted that he was the modern founder of
social contrat tradition.He died on 4th December,1679,
Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire.His contribution to modern
philosophy can’t be describe in words.