Thomas Hobbes Philosophy: The Modern Leviathan

While defining Thomas Hobbes and his philosophy, it would be useful to know his background history, as well as his lifetime experiences. The English Civil Wars between the years 1642-1651 have a fundamental place in shaping the mindset of Hobbes. His philosophical perspectives revolve around the concept of fear produced by the destructive atmosphere of the civil wars. Hobbes’s reaction to these unwholesome circumstances for human life is his peremptory defence of authority while evaluating individualism and freedom as harmful concepts for society. Instead of democracy and equality, Hobbes proposes what he calls the Leviathan, whose governmental force is constructed upon fear and inequality by the contractual wills of the subjects giving Leviathan an endless ultimate authority. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the application of the Hobbesian philosophy into the modern world and the transformation from his theoretical state of nature to the ideal Commenwealth.