De Cive: Religion. De Cive: Liberty. De Cive: Dominion. Chapter V Of the causes, and first beginning of civil Government I. It is of it selfe manifest, that the actions of men proceed from the will, and the will from hope, and feare, insomuch as when they shall see a greater good, or less evil, likely to happen to them by the breach, then observation of the Lawes, they'l wittingly violate them. The hope therefore which each man hath of his security, and self-preservation, consists in this, that by force or craft he may disappoint his neighbor, either openly, or by stratagem.
II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. Chap. Of the right of him, whether Counsell, or one Man onely, who hath the supreme power in the City I. Multitude, &c.] II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. The Leviathan. The Elements of Law Natural and Politic. Introduction. The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is best known for his political thought, and deservedly so. His vision of the world is strikingly original and still relevant to contemporary politics.
His main concern is the problem of social and political order: how human beings can live together in peace and avoid the danger and fear of civil conflict. He poses stark alternatives: we should give our obedience to an unaccountable sovereign (a person or group empowered to decide every social and political issue). Otherwise what awaits us is a "state of nature" that closely resembles civil war – a situation of universal insecurity, where all have reason to fear violent death and where rewarding human cooperation is all but impossible.
One controversy has dominated interpretations of Hobbes. Table of Contents 1. Hobbes is the founding father of modern political philosophy. 2. Hobbes's biography is dominated by the political events in England and Scotland during his long life. 3. 4. A. B.