Starting with Hobbes

by Ross, George MacDonald

• ISBN13: 9781847061614
• ISBN10: 1847061613
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-08-30
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Thomas Hobbes was one of the most important and influential philosophers of the seventeenth century. Covering all the key concepts of his work, Starting with Hobbes provides an accessible introduction to the ideas of this hugely significant thinker.

Author Biography

George MacDonald Ross is Director of the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies and Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leeds, UK. In 2006 he was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship for his contribution to the improvement of learning and teaching in higher education in the UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Abbreviations	p. 5
Life and Works	p. 6
Early Years	p. 6
The Cavendish Family	p. 7
Tutor to the Second Earl of Devonshire	p. 7
Tutor to Gervase Clifton	p. 9
Tutor to the Third Earl of Devonshire	p. 10
Exile in Paris	p. 11
Return to England	p. 14
Last Years	p. 15
Theory of Knowledge	p. 18
Medieval Theories of Perception	p. 18
Galileo's Theory of Perception	p. 19
Descartes' Theory of Perception	p. 21
Hobbes's Theory of Perception	p. 22
The Nature of Light	p. 24
Special Features of Hobbes's Account	p. 26
Perception and Action	p. 28
Primary and Secondary Qualities	p. 29
Scientific Knowledge	p. 33
Language	p. 37
Reasoning	p. 42
An Alternative Theory of Meaning	p. 43
Materialism	p. 47
Introduction	p. 47
Substance	p. 48
Immaterial Substances	p. 49
The Human Soul	p. 51
No Vacuum	p. 56
Universals	p. 59
Truths	p. 66
Infinity	p. 68
Geometry	p. 72
Cause	p. 75
Conation	p. 81
Determinism	p. 83
The Human Being	p. 88
Introduction	p. 88
Appetite and Aversion	p. 89
Good and Evil	p. 91
Deliberation and Will	p. 93
Freedom and Determinism	p. 96
The Equality of Humans	p. 100
The State of Nature	p. 103
Natural Laws	p. 106
Society	p. 110
A Science of Society	p. 110
The Making of the Social Contract	p. 114
Was the Social Contract a Historical Event?	p. 117
Commonwealth by Institution and by Acquisition	p. 120
Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy	p. 122
The Indivisibility of Sovereignty	p. 125
Life Under Absolute Rule	p. 126
Freedom of Thought	p. 130
Religion	p. 134
Hobbes as a Fundamentalist Anglican	p. 134
The Corruption of Christianity by Greek Philosophy	p. 138
The Argument for Belief in the Existence of God	p. 143
God as Material	p. 148
The Afterlife	p. 154
Hobbes's Influence	p. 161
Religion and Political Philosophy	p. 161
Metaphysics	p. 165
Conclusion	p. 171
Sources	p. 173
Hobbes Texts	p. 173
Other Primary Texts	p. 174
Hobbes's Biography	p. 174
Hobbes's Influence	p. 174
Continuing with Hobbes	p. 176
Index	p. 179
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