Although there were dozens of early modern philosophers who made lasting contributions to the way people perceived people, governments, and God, there are only a handful whose contributions can be said to have laid the foundation for the way we see the world today. One of the most important of the early modern philosophers, as far as a lasting contribution to political thought, was Thomas Hobbes.
Hobbes was born in Wilshire, England in 1588. Little is known about his childhood, although Hobbes did write that he was born prematurely due to his mother's fear of the Spanish Armada. What is known is that Hobbes received some education at a church in Westport, after his father abandoned him and his siblings, and that his middle childhood years were spent at First Malmesbury School and then a private school run by an Oxford graduate.
Hobbes attended Hertford College, and was recommended by the master of the institution as a tutor for William Cavendish, son of the future Earl of Devonshire. Although dismissed from his position at the household upon the death of the Earl in 1628 (after 18 years), Hobbes would return and the connection with the Cavendish family was one that would last his entire life.
It was after his first dismissal from this household when Hobbes began to take an active interest in philosophy; up until 1629, his interest had mainly lain in literature and mathematics. In fact, he had been the first person to do a translation of the text The History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides, into English.
However, after leaving England for France and the tutelage of another pupil, Hobbes began to take an active part in the study of philosophy. He honed his skills in this area from 1629 to 1637, both in Paris and other French centres, as well as back in England, where he rejoined the Cavendish family in 1631 (this time tutoring the son of his former pupil). By 1637, he considered himself a scholar.
From the outset of his philosophical career, Hobbes was a supporter of an absolute monarchy. His earliest treatises discussed the relation of man with other men, based on the principles of motion and action. Fearing that he was a target, because of his support of a monarchy through his philosophical leanings, Hobbes would leave England in 1640.
In 1642, the English Civil War would break out, leaving many royalists in fear of their lives. Several fled to France and joined Hobbes, who, encouraged by their presence, began to actively write philosophy again. It was during this time that he wrote and published Leviathan, in which he sets out the social contract, outlining why humans must be governed and how to ensure that the governing body (the monarch) did not turn to despotic behaviour.
Strangely, the work alienated Hobbes from both sides of the English Civil War. The royalists in Paris wished to have him killed, while the Anglicans and French Catholics were alarmed by the secular nature of the work. This forced Hobbes to return to England, where he received permission from the Puritan government to live privately in the countryside.
Leviathan would be the crowning achievement in Hobbes's career, philosophical and otherwise. His publications on math and physics were controversial; though he published further works on philosophy, many of his attempts were stunted by proceedings that suggested his works were heretical. Hobbes was able to successfully defend Leviathan, but was prohibited from publishing any further works related to human conduct in England from 1668 on.
Although he continued to write, his works were limited by this decision and his most notable efforts included an autobiography and several translations of classic works. Thomas Hobbes died at the age of 91 after a stroke that paralyzed him. His final words were purported to be "a great leap in the dark".
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