HOBBES, THOMAS ( 1555.1679) . An English philosopher and political theorist. He was born at Malmo-bury, on April 5, 1555, the son of a clergyman. At the age of fifteen he went to Ox ford and studied the usual course of Aristotelian logic and physics. At the age of twenty, having taken his degree and quitted Oxford, he was recommended to Lord Cavendish, afterwards Earl of Devonshire, as tutor to his eldest son. Thus began an intimate connection with that great family which lasted through his long life.
In 1610 he went abroad with his pupil, and made the tour of France and Italy. After his return he still continued to live with the Earl of Devonshire's family, and his residence in London afforded him opportunities of becoming ac quainted with Bacon, Ben Jonson, and the other distinguished men of the time. Meantime he was occupied with classical, political, and philosoph ical studies, and prepared for publication his first work, a translation of Thneydides, which came out in 1628. His interest in Thucydides was largely political. For many years he still derived his income from tutorial work, but gave his leisure to study. The political disturbances of the time made him desirous of political stabil ity and order, which he believed could be ob tained only by unquestioning recognition of the absolute power of the sovereign. This power, according to Hobbes, is neither original nor divine, hut was delegated by the subjects in a compact which created the State and gave rise to all.moral and political obligation. Primitive man did not live in any social or political organi zation. Every one was at first bent on securing his own selfish ends, hut came to see that the warfare which inevitably resulted from the clash of unregulated interests was suicidal. A con tract was made whereby this war of each against omnium contra brought to a close, a civil government established, and loyalty pledged to the sovereign power thus con stituted. Whatever laws this power lays down are the measure of right and wrong. These views were published in various works: De Cive (1642) ; Humane Nature (1650) ; De C'orpore Politico (IMO) ; Leviathan, or the Matter, Form, end Power of a Commonwealth (1651).
After the meeting of the Long Parliament in 1640 Hobbes had returned to Paris, from his dread of the civil troubles. In 1647 he was ap pointed mathematical tutor to the Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles 11.; but the character of his writings, especially after the publication of the Leviathan, so offended the Royalist clergy,in common with all other sects, that Charles was in duced to part with him, and he took alarm for his personal safety and abruptly fled in 1651 to Paris: but after a short stay there, knowing that he had caused much irritation in France by his bitter attacks on the Papacy, he returned to England. where he was allowed to live quietly.
Very different was his position after the Restora tion; for although Charles granted bins a pen sion of 1100 a year, the dislike to his views was so general that they were condemned by the House of Commons in 1666, and lie was in danger of still severer measures. His connection with the Earl of Devonshire, with whom be lived in the latter part of his life, was no doubt a power ful protection to him. This old age was fruitful in additions to his writings, and was marked by some sharp controversies. Ilk last works were a translation of Homer and a history of the civil wars. Ile died on December 4, 1679.
All his Laths works were collected and pub lished by himself (Amsterdam, 1668), and by Molesworth (5 vols., London, 1639-45). His English works were edited by Molesworth (11 volumes, including index, London, 1839-45). F. ninnies edited and published Behemoth, or the Long Parliament (London, DM).
In philosophy and psychology Hobbes was a. sensationalist, and, at least at times, a material ist. All change for him is motion, hence sensu ous perception is motion, and pleasure is also mo tion. Just why motion should appear in the form of consciousness is an inexplicable mystery. Sense impressions, in their combinations and transfor mations, give rise to memory and thought. This takes place according to definite laws. The order of succession of memory-idea is that of the orig inal sense-impressions, while the impressions originally in combination tend to reappear in the same combination; this fact he called the law of contiguity. Indeed, Hobbes is commonly re garded as the 'father of assoeiational psychology.' Hobbes's ethics was hedonistic. It is man's desire for pleasure that made him in the first instance establish civil authority, but it is the suprem acy of that authority which makes it. binding now. Consult; Tunnies, "Anmerkungen fiber die Philosophie des Hobbes," four articles in 'Fier teljahrsschrift fiir wissensehaftliche Philosophic (Leipzig, 1879-81) ; Robertson, Hobbes (Edin burgh, 1S86) ; \Ville, Der Phiinomenalismus des Thomas Hobbes (Kiel, 1888) Lewis, Carr den Individualismus bei Hobbes (Halle, 'S92) ; Sneath, The Ethics of Hobbes (Boston, 1898) ; Stephen, Hobbes (London, 1903) ; Graham, Eng lish Political Philosophy from Hobbes to Maine (New York, 1900).