Social contract theory according thomas hobbes biography

Hobbes was an English philosopher who believed in the need for a social contract between people that limited their freedoms in the name of the greater good. Learn about Thomas Hobbes and the social contract as well as how other later Enlightenment philosophers like John Locke challenged some of his views.

Thomas Hobbes: A Man Shaped by His Experiences

Thomas Hobbes was born in 1588.

He studied at Oxford and spent much of his life working as a tutor for an aristocratic family. By the 1640s, he became known for a number of philosophical works he had published.

It is around this time that Hobbes witnessed the horrors of war that would shape his political views and beliefs.

Social contract theory according thomas hobbes biography summary

The English Civil War was fought between 1642 and 1651 and most likely influenced his ideas of the social contract.

Hobbes spent much of the war in exile in France. However, he looked on with horror at the death and destruction in his native country.

He had already been an outspoken supporter of absolute mon