British Empiricism III: Thomas. Hobbes 1
1. Hobbes's life and historical position
Hobbes was a philosopher known as a political scientist, who was like a guide, marrying philosophy and politics at the same time.
Hobbes was born in 1588, only 17 years younger than Bacon. But in the era of rapid development of history, 17 years is a big number. More than half of Bacon's life was associated with Queen Elizabeth, and he was not favored by the Queen, even if he could be favored, after all, it was a relatively calm era that prevented thinkers, especially political thinkers, from making great achievements. Later james I ascended the throne, and he was trusted. That thought turned to how to be a big official and a good official. When Bacon died, James I died just a year ago, and the consequences of the succession of Charles I to England were still in the light, not to mention that Bacon had become a victim of court struggle at this time, hiding in the countryside and writing books.
Hobbes was different. When Charlie came to power, he was 16 years old. When the British Revolution broke out, he was in the stage of becoming rich and powerful. It can be said that he was a contemporary of the British Revolution. He remembered the causes of the Beginning of the British Revolution and cared about everything. The shock and impact of the revolutionary storm on society was even more immersive, like a fish in the abyss, and he was ideologically prepared for this. Although he could not be regarded as a prophet of the British Revolution, he was a foreign military division and planner of the goals of the British Revolution. His theory of the state can be seen as the first systematic interpretation of the modern western political system. In this regard, he himself is also a benevolent person and full of self-confidence.
Hobbes's political doctrine far surpassed that of his predecessors, surpassing machiavelli, surpassing Gersthaus, and surpassing Bacon. He was a great thinker who could stand in opposition to Aristotle in Western political science. His masterpiece Leviathan is comparable to Aristotle's Political Science, and is a theoretical masterpiece that has a great influence on the modern political system in the West.
Western political theory, since the Middle Ages, has been reduced to theology and has done nothing. State power was fragmented, the king's authority was suppressed by the authority of the pope, and the king's power often became a vassal of the ecclesiastical power. However, with the rise of the Renaissance movement, there were more and more struggles for clerical monarchy, and secular culture, including secular political forces, mainly based on modern industry and commerce, became increasingly powerful; humanist thought provided strong spiritual support for this secular culture. The old order was in turmoil, and new things were emerging one after another. It was at this time that Machiavelli came into being and became a representative and leader of political philosophy in the humanist era. However, Machiavelli was born at the right time, but he did not live, and with the decline of Florence and the rise of religious wars, his influence had to be temporarily regressed.
Machiavelli stepped back, and Gerrosus rose. Gerrence (1583-1645) Dutchman, famous thinker, political scientist and jurist in modern Western history. His motherland, the Netherlands, was the first capitalist state power in human history, and he himself was the founder of capitalist jurisprudence, especially international law.
The ideas of Gertrusus were clearly higher than those of Machiavelli. After all, the two lived in different times, different countries, different bases of writings, and different starting points for arguments. Ma shi was in the initial period of capitalist political civilization, and the political culture was not yet climatic; Gelusus was in the founding period of capitalist regime, and had a deep understanding and systematic expression of modern rule of law civilization. Although his natural law doctrine and sovereignty doctrine are still transitional in nature, after all, they are qualitatively different from The Old Marxism. Machiavelli's work, in particular, his Treatise on Kings, is more like a high-ranking guest advising the princes, while Gerst's work has straightened up and is about to give a lecture to the emerging capitalist civilization. In particular, his ideas on international law occupy an important place in the history of world jurisprudence and political science.
But neither Machiavelli nor Grotius is on a par with Hobbes in terms of political philosophy. Machiavelli's historical contribution lies in the fact that he was the first thinker after the Middle Ages to place political theory on the basis of secular politics, but as far as the content of his doctrine is concerned, its main body is in the aspects of political means, political power and the art of political management. This alone put him and Hobbes off the bar. Hobbes did not attach much importance to the technical content of political science, but paid special attention to its theoretical basis and philosophical thinking. This makes his doctrine more macroeconomatic and theoretical than Mars' theory. In contrast, Mars's theory inevitably appears to be somewhat thin or even pale and weak.
Grotius is a famous legal figure in the modern history of mankind, and his theory has a profound and long-lasting impact on modern world law. But his theoretical contributions are mostly in jurisprudence, while his theory of natural law and political sovereignty are not mature, and they are not as systematic and comprehensive as Hobbes's political doctrines.
Hobbes's political philosophy was a milestone in the history of modern Western thought, and his crude paradoxes and impracticalities were developed, revised, and enriched by the later Locke. Hobbes laid the foundation for modern Western political philosophy, and Locke was rich in its achievements.
Hobbes was again a great man in the history of ideas. The famous masters in the history of human thought are gathered and rarely seen by everyone. Everyone is also, the inheritance is also widespread, the creation is also abundant, and there are also those who have come out with huge works. Hobbes was not only the heir to humanist philosophy, but also paid great attention to absorbing the scientific achievements of his contemporaries. He was not only friendly to Galileo, but also closely related to Bacon, and his political science was Machiavelli's heir; his ideas of natural law were in line with Gerrence's. He was the heir to Bacon's philosophy, and he had both a rebuttal and a reference to Cartesian philosophy. But it not only inherits its predecessors, but also surpasses its predecessors. Although he and Bacon were the main exponents of English empiricist philosophy. His philosophical thinking has made great progress compared to Bacon's.
Bacon was unsure of Copernicus, nor did he understand Galileo, and although Harvey was his personal physician, he seemed to know nothing of Harvey's scientific achievements. Hobbes, on the other hand, not only strongly supported copernicanism, but also had a deep understanding of Galileo's scientific achievements, and even more admired Harvey and his theory of blood circulation. Although Bacon was the first philosopher in the history of modern Western philosophy, his philosophical ideas were not mature compared with Hobbes. He distinguished theology from philosophy as a development, but did not make a truly philosophical critique of theology. Hobbes, on the other hand, denies the scientific nature of theology at all, and he is downright empiricist—he recognizes science, not God. Throughout his life, Bacon was only concerned with induction, and had little understanding of the role of deduction.
Bacon seems to be dimly aware of the role of mathematics, but he is a layman in mathematics, and even believes that mathematics cannot become an independent discipline. Hobbes was an avid supporter of mathematics and appreciated geometry even more. Mr Russell said: "
From Descartes to Kant, continental philosophy has many concepts about the nature of human cognition derived from mathematics; but continental philosophy regards mathematics as recognized without experience. Thus continental philosophy, like Platonic philosophy, devalues the status of perception and places too much emphasis on the role of pure thought. On the contrary, English empiricism was rarely influenced by mathematics and often had an incorrect understanding of the scientific method. Both of these shortcomings Hobbes did not have. It was not until modern times that a number of other philosophers appeared, who, although empiricists, also paid due attention to mathematics. Hobbes's strengths in this regard are great. Hobbes was certainly not a mathematician, but he can be said to be a pioneer of the philosophical figures of modern Europe who valued both experience and mathematics. In terms of attaching great importance to geometry, his heart is also connected with Spinoza and Descartes.
In terms of experience, he was a developer of Bacon's philosophy; in terms of reason, he was a fellow traveler to Cartesian philosophy. Because of his broad vision, extensive reading, and great inheritance, he made contributions in philosophy, political science, ethics, psychology, metaphysics, and natural science. In particular, his empirical philosophy and political science are outstanding achievements and unique contributions, and he is an important historical figure that no historian of philosophy can ignore.
Hobbes was born into a lower-class family in Wiltshire, south England. His father had neither the talent nor the significance of his influence. He was a rural parish priest, and researchers talked about him by saying he was "obtuse and unlearned." The word blunt is used very well. Lu, the poor temperament is also said to be, the blunt, the unlearned and talentless are also said to be. His mother was an ordinary peasant woman, and it had little influence on his growth. Living in such a family, his early childhood education was uneventful. Later, when he went to school in the town, he was raised by his uncle.
But he was a seed of reading, at the age of 14 he was already fluent in Greek and Latin, at the age of 15 he was fortunate enough to enter Oxford University, and since then he has been associated with learning, and he has not dropped out of the main course of his school, still without Aristotle's philosophy and scholastic logic. And it seems that his studies are also good, and he stays in school to teach after graduation. He is indeed a rare figure in modern Western history who makes a living by teaching. Although he began his life path by teaching, he had no good feelings for university life, and was particularly disgusted with the curriculum of Oxford University. After all, he was not a mediocre student who could be confined to old-style philosophy. Later, he was introduced to a British dignitary, Lord Hadwick, as a tutor, and from this, he made contact with British politicians and entered a new path.
Hobbes's life was like Bacon's, he actively participated in political affairs, and at the same time did not forget to study learning. During his time as a tutor, he followed his students around the world and seized the opportunity to learn about the world's most advanced astrophysics, represented by Galileo galilei and Kepler at that time. His personal teaching work is very popular. His students supported him in many ways and later became his patrons. This patronage lasted until the death of his student in 1628.
Before the age of 50, Hobbes lived in France and for a time in Italy. During his infancy, he paid a special visit to Galileo, and the two men met and hated each other late, and formed a deep friendship.
He returned home in 1637, and three years later the English Revolution broke out. He went into exile in France in 1640 as a supporter of the King's Party and became a mathematics teacher to King Charles II of England. During this period, he had contacts with Descartes, Gassandis, etc., and had the privilege of carefully reading Descartes' manuscripts of Meditations. His philosophical foundation is indeed different from Descartes's, but it is valuable that he can also be outspoken and put forward his criticism in writing. Descartes was open-minded and graceful, and when he printed the book, he also paid his objections together with his own reply.
Hobbes published his masterpiece Leviathan in 1651. Unfortunately, this work, which had a great influence on future generations, did not bring him honor when it was published, but on the contrary, it put him in a very embarrassing situation. No one likes this book. The rationalism in the book annoyed most exiles, and the fierce attacks on the Old Church angered the French government. He had to sneak back to England, half pushing and half pushing, and surrendering to Cromwell's door.
Hobbes's personality is very contradictory, and he thinks he is a very timid person. He wrote humorously in his Autobiography that he himself was one of the twins born to his mother, and the other was called Fear. In fact, his guts didn't seem to be big. He dared to express his opinion, but encountered fierce opponents, often escaping things. But he is also a courageous and knowledgeable man in scientific discussion. How many opinions he has expressed in his life, there is indeed a smell of thorns and thorns. Later generations of researchers have talked about this a lot, and there is no consensus, some people say that he is bold, some people say that he is timid. For example, the famous Western historian Tilly praised him as "one of the bravest and most consistent representatives of the modern movement."
Hobbes loved to argue and never changed throughout his life. Throughout his long life, he made a deep impression on the world on several occasions when he argued. When Descartes' philosophy was popular on the European continent, he was one of those who stood up and openly objected. In mathematics, he was not deeply accomplished, but his ambitions were not small. He thought he had mastered the method of "turning circles into squares", so he did not hesitate to argue with the geometry professor at Oxford University.
Hobbes was a radical philosopher, and although he had his own distinct advantages in the face of some troublesome problems, he could not help but laugh when faced with problems that needed to be treated carefully and carefully.
Hobbes's life, honor and disgrace, but glory is the mainstay. He had a lot of contacts with prominent political figures and generally had good relations with them. However, he was a scholar and an atheist after all, so that although he was loved by the king, his majesty's wisdom was not up to the level of understanding of his writings, so that some of his works could not be printed in the country. By the end of his life, his reputation abroad was louder than in England.
Hobbes lived a long life, he lived to be 91 years old, and he was in very good health. "He wrote an autobiography in Latin rhymes at the age of 84, and at the age of 87 he published an English translation of Homer's work." Although Mr. Russell regretfully stated that "I have not been able to find out what big books he wrote after the age of 87". But at the age of 87, those who can still produce Homer's translations, we have to admit that such an old man is indeed rare in the world.
But overall, Hobbes is a man of past and future. Although he was more mature than Bacon, he was not as influential as Locke. This is a bit like the later German Schelling and Fichte, those two philosophers are actually masters in the history of philosophy, but compared with Kant and Hegel, it is a notch lower. Hobbes's fate is similar to this. During his lifetime, his influence was far deeper and broader than that of Descartes; after his death, he was again compared to the great prestige and influence of Locke. In this sense, he is indeed a philosopher who is not easy to classify, even an anachronistic historical figure, and in terms of philosophy, although he is influenced by continental rationalism, he cannot be called a rationalist, and in political terms, although he has personally experienced the British Revolution, he is not a true confidant of the English Revolution. In these two respects, Descartes and Locke are even greater.
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![Tilly: Thomas Hobbes' Goals and Methods[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)