Thomas Hobbes

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/thomas-hobbes

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Thomas Hobbes born?April 5, 1588
2. When did Thomas Hobbes die?December 4, 1679 (age 91)
3. Where was Thomas Hobbes born?Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England
4. Who was Thomas Hobbes and why is he famous?Thomas Hobbes was a 17th‑century English philosopher. He is famous for writing Leviathan, a book that explains why people need a strong leader to keep peace.
5. What is Leviathan and what idea does it explain?Leviathan is a big sea monster that represents a powerful ruler. Hobbes said people should give up some freedom to this ruler so that everyone stays safe.

State of Nature: Hobbes's hypothetical condition of humanity without any form of government or social structure, characterized by perpetual conflict and fear.
Social Contract: A philosophical concept where individuals implicitly or explicitly agree to surrender certain freedoms to a governing authority in exchange for protection and social order.
Absolute Sovereignty: The principle that a sovereign power (ruler or government) holds ultimate, undivided, and unlimited authority, not subject to any higher power.
Polymath: An individual whose knowledge and expertise extend across a substantial number of diverse subject areas.