Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Robin, and I like to welcome you to this lesson on the philosophy and beliefs of Thomas Hobbes, and we'll be looking at his politics as well as his religion.

So in today's lesson, you are going to be able to explain who Thomas Hobbes was, his context, and why his religious views were considered controversial at the time.

We're gonna be using some key terms today.

And they are cosmological argument, "Leviathan," materialism, sovereign, and Thomas Hobbes.

Now, the cosmological argument is an argument that attempts to prove God's existence as the first cause of the universe.

"Leviathan" is a book by Thomas Hobbes that argues for a strong authority to maintain order in society.

Materialism is the belief that everything, including our thoughts and emotions, arises from physical matter.

A sovereign is a supreme ruler.

And Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, 1588 to 1679, known for his political philosophy.

So we're gonna split the lesson into two parts, and we'll be looking at the life and times of Thomas Hobbes, and then we'll be looking at Thomas Hobbes and religion.

So let's get started looking at the life and times of Thomas Hobbes.

Philosophers are academics and thinkers who study ultimate questions about existence, knowledge, ethics, and reality using logic to explore them.

Whether you have a religious or a non-religious worldview, you can use philosophy as a tool to understand the arguments that others use to support their views.

In this lesson, we will reflect on Thomas Hobbes' philosophy of religion.

So he's known for his political philosophy, but he did also delve into the area of the philosophy of religion.

And we'll be looking at that as part of this lesson, where we are thinking about the links between politics and religion.

Here you can see a portrait of Thomas Hobbes painted by John Michael Wright.

Thomas Hobbes lived between 1588 and 1679.

He was an English political philosopher who lived during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

He argued that humans are naturally selfish and they are driven by their desires.

And this leads to them having a conflict with each other if there's no strong authority to rule over them.

In his most famous book, which was called "Leviathan," published in 1651, Hobbes claimed that to avoid a life of chaos, people must agree to be ruled by a sovereign.

So we're going to be looking today at his background, why it might be that he believed that humans in their natural state, as he called it, are selfish, driven by desire, competitive, and how he believed that that could be solved.

So let's have a look at influences on Thomas Hobbes.

On this timeline, we can see the Renaissance period leading into the enlightenment.

Humanism continued to influence philosophers, artists, and writers to put humans rather than God at the centre of their work.

Leonardo da Vinci, for example, in 1503, began painting the "Mona Lisa." And so this would've been an influence on Thomas Hobbes.

The authority of the church was being increasingly challenged and people were beginning to interpret Christianity for themselves.

An example of this was when the Reformation began when Martin Luther nailed his "Ninety-five Theses" to the church door in Wittenberg in 1517.

And again, that would've been an influence on Thomas Hobbes.

The Scientific Revolution was starting during the Renaissance and moving into the Enlightenment, and it emphasised the importance of observing the world.

So in 1543, Copernicus published "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres," which proposed a heliocentric, Sun-centered model of the universe.

And this contrasted with the thinking at the time, which said that everything was centred around the Earth.

Now, during Hobbes' lifetime, we have the English Civil War, which was a conflict over political and religious authority in England.

And this took place between 1642 and 1651.

And Charles I was, in fact, beheaded in 1649.

It was in 1588 that Hobbes was born.

And in 1651 that he published his most famous work, "Leviathan." He died in 1679.

Which of the following might have influenced Thomas Hobbes to put humans at the centre of his work? So have a think about what we've just talked about and choose the one that you think would've influenced him in that way.

Was it a, the Middle Ages worldview, b, Renaissance humanism, c, the Scientific Revolution, or d, the Reformation? Take some time to think about your answer.

Pause and come back when you're ready to check it.

So, well done if you put Renaissance humanism, which focused on human potential.

Andeep and Sofia are discussing Thomas Hobbes' worldview.

Andeep says, "Hobbes believe that human nature rather than God was the key to understanding society and politics." Sofia says, "He was influenced by Renaissance humanists who focused on human potential." Andeep says, "Hobbes was a materialist because he believed that everything results from physical rather than supernatural processes." Sofia says, "He was influenced by the Scientific Revolution which promoted the idea that the natural world follows observable laws." Andeep says, "Hobbes believed that a strong secular, which means non-religious, sovereign was needed." Sofia says, "He was influenced by the Reformation, which challenged the power of the church and by living during the English Civil War, which challenged the authority of the king." Let's check your understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Thomas Hobbes believed that understanding God was essential to understanding human nature.

Take some time to think about your answer and also think about why you've decided it's true or why you've decided it's false.

Pause and come back when you are ready to check.

Well done if you put that was false.

But why is this? Hobbes believed that human nature could be explained by reason and physical causes and not by understanding God.

So, for your first task, task A, Jacob and Aisha are discussing influences on Thomas Hobbes' worldview.

I'd like you to decide whose understanding is accurate and explain why.

Jacob says, "I think Hobbes was influenced by the Scientific Revolution.

He applied the principles of observation and believed everything was physical." Aisha says, "I think Renaissance ideas led Hobbes to focus on God rather than humanity, which is why he believed the church should have authority over all areas of life." Use the sentences to help you set out your answer.

So you're going to decide who has an accurate understanding and why and who does not.

So, has an accurate understanding because or does not have an accurate understanding because.

Pause the video, take your time to reread both their answers and to write down your answer.

So let's have a look at what you could have written.

You could have said Jacob has an accurate understanding because Hobbes was influenced by the Scientific Revolution's focus on reason and empirical observation, which helped shape his belief in the physical nature of reality.

Aisha does not have an accurate understanding because Renaissance humanist puts human potential first rather than the authority of the church.

So well done if you got the Jacob was more accurate than Aisha, and if you realise what the different influences were on Hobbes.

So for the second part of our lesson, we're going to be looking at Thomas Hobbes and religion.

Here, we can see the frontispiece of "Leviathan," which is the book, the famous book that Hobbes had published in 1651.

As a political philosopher, Hobbes was interested in the question, how should we live together? He explored this question in his most famous work, "Leviathan," which was published in 1651 during the English Civil War.

The frontispiece of "Leviathan" shows a giant king made up of smaller people.

Following the publication of "Leviathan," Hobbes was actually accused of atheism, which means he was accused of not believing in God.

Jun and Alex are discussing why.

Jun says, "I think Hobbes was accused of atheism because he was a materialist and believed everything was made of physical matter.

He disagreed with the teaching that humans have an immaterial soul." Alex says, "I think Hobbes was also accused of atheism because he argued that the sovereign, not the church, should control religion and politics, which could be seen as rejecting religion." So let's check your understanding.

I'd like you to pick two reasons why Thomas Hobbes was viewed as an atheist by some people.

Was it a, he argued that God did not create the world, b, he denied the existence of immaterial non-physical soul, c, he rejected the idea of a sovereign authority, or d, he argued that all human actions were driven by physical causes? So take some time to choose the two answers which you think best explain this idea that he might have been an atheist.

And pause if you need to before you come back to check.

So well done if you put b and d.

He did deny the existence of an immaterial soul.

So he didn't think there was a non-physical soul that would live after you died.

And he did say that human actions were driven by physical causes.

Despite being accused of atheism, so in other words, being accused of not believing in God, Hobbes didn't actually deny God's existence at all.

And in fact, he even did the opposite.

In "Leviathan," he included a cosmological argument to support the existence of God.

Now, cosmological arguments can be found throughout the philosophy of religion, lots of different writers have used them, going right back to Aristotle, the Ancient Greek philosopher.

The word cosmological comes from Ancient Greek, and it's got two parts.

You've got cosmo.

So you may think of the word cosmos, which you may have heard of, and we've got logical.

The word cosmos is a Greek word that means universe.

So a cosmological argument is talking about the universe.

And logical comes from the Greek word logia, meaning reasoning, so working things out.

So essentially, a cosmological argument is working things out about the universe.

It usually refers to reasoning about or thinking through, studying the universe.

Cosmological arguments are attempts to prove God's existence by reasoning from the existence of the universe to God as the first cause of everything.

So they've become a very specific style of argument.

In other words, philosophers will say like, "Well, everything has a cause and therefore, the universe must have a cause or a beginning.

And what else could that be but God?" So this is a cosmological argument, and many of them have been written by different philosophers in different cultures over the years.

The argument could work like this.

Everything that exists has a cause.

A chain of causes cannot go back forever.

There must be a first cause that is not caused by anything else.

Therefore, there must be a God who created the world.

Hobbes as a philosopher used logic to structure his arguments, and this is a way in which we can break down his cosmological argument into a series of premises, which are statements that support the argument and a conclusion which follows on from the premises.

So Aisha and Lucas are discussing how Hobbes used his cosmological argument to support the need for strong sovereign.

Aisha says, how did Hobbes use his argument for God's existence to support the idea of a strong sovereign? Lucas replies, "Well, for Hobbes, God is the first cause.

He provides stability because everything originates from him and he does not change.

In the same way, the sovereign provides stability to society because laws originate from him and he has absolute authority." So let's check your understanding.

What are the missing words? Hobbes outlined a, argument for God's existence.

He used this to support the idea that the sovereign provides.

So we are looking for two words here.

Take your time to think about what we've just learned about how he argued for God's existence, but also how he used that argument to support his ideas.

Pause and come back when you're ready to check.

So well done if you put cosmological arguments and that he used it to support the idea that the sovereign provides stability.

So let's move on to your task.

Let's practise what you've learned.

So for task B, one, Sofia and Jun have been arguing about whether Thomas Hobbes was truly religious, and they've each come to a conclusion.

I would like you to use the structure of a philosophical argument like the one that's going to appear below to write two premises, reasons, which support their conclusions.

So Jun says for his conclusion, "Therefore, Thomas Hobbes was religious." And Sofia says, "Therefore, Thomas Hobbes was not religious." And the structure is as follows.

Premise one, premise two, and a conclusion.

So the hints are to use something that religious people are supposed to believe, and then for premise two, something that Thomas Hobbes believed.

So take some time to think about those two views on Thomas Hobbes and whether he was religious and to put together an argument to support each of them.

Pause the video and come back when you are ready to see what you could have written.

So you could have said, for Jun, premise one, religious people tend to believe in God.

Premise two, Hobbes wrote a cosmological argument for God's existence.

Conclusion.

Therefore, Thomas Hobbes was religious.

And for Sofia, premise one, religious people tend to believe in an immaterial soul.

Premise two, Hobbes denied the existence of an immaterial soul.

Conclusion, therefore, Thomas Hobbes was not religious.

So well done if you manage to pick out those two things are two different reasons why people might think one thing about Hobbes and why other people might think a different thing.

So for practise task two, Aisha and Lucas are thinking about how to answer our unit question, religion and politics in the enlightenment, how are they aligned? Aisha is explaining how religion and politics were linked before Hobbes and Lucas is comparing how Hobbes aligned them.

I'd like you to complete Lucas' explanation.

Aisha says, "Before Hobbes, religion and politics were closely intertwined because the church controlled all areas of life, including politics." Lucas says, "Hobbes did not align religion and politics so closely.

However he." So your job is to write up Lucas's paragraph, thinking about what we've learned today.

Take the time, pause the video, and come back When you are ready to have a look at what you could have written.

You could have said Hobbes did not align religion and politics very closely.

He argued that the sovereign, not the church, should hold authority over both.

However, he used a cosmological argument to justify the need for a powerful sovereign, saying that just as the universe needs a cause to keep its stability, society needs a sovereign with absolute power to keep order.

He believed the sovereign's authority came from God.

So well done if you have managed to explain that Hobbes thought the sovereign should have authority over religion and politics, but that he did still believe in God, and he used his idea that God gives the universe stability to support his idea that the sovereign gives people stability.

So we've done a lot in our lesson today.

We have learned that Thomas Hobbes, 1588 to 1679, was an English philosopher during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods.

Hobbes is best known his political philosophy and his 1651 book, "Leviathan," which argues that a strong central authority is necessary.

Hobbes presented a cosmological argument for the existence of God, proposing God as the first cause of the universe.

His materialist view, which was denying the existence of an immaterial soul and his belief the sovereign should control religion and politics led to accusations of atheism.

And his religious views remain debated as his ideas blend theistic and non-religious elements.

Thank you for working with me today and for all of your hard work on the philosophy and beliefs of Thomas Hobbes.