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Modern Philosophers : Thomas Hobbes

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Modern Philosophers
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Thomas Hobbes
Name: Thomas Hobbes
Born: April 5, 1588, Wiltshire, England
Died: December 4, 1679
English Philosopher Thomas Hobbes, most famous forLeviathan, studied Physics and Mathematics and
took a keen interest in politics. His controversial writings portray life on its most basic level—as the
biological process. Hobbes did not believe in any inherent goodness to men, stating that fear is the
driving force behind man's submission to a sovereignty. Leviathan
Hobbes' most prominent work, Leviathan, describes his version of the social contract theory. Originally,
says Hobbes, human beings existed in what he calls the "state of nature". In this state, morality does not
exist. Since this is not a world that provides any level of security, human beings come together and form
societies — because they know that this is the best course of action for their own (selfish) protection.
"The social contract" is the agreement, explicit or not, between members of a society that describes
morality — the rules of the society. Hobbes also points out that those who reject the contract remain in
the state of nature, and that there is no moral value assigned to any actions taken against them. In his
text, Hobbes describes the Leviathan, that is, the government or sovereign authority that governs the
contract. The loss of certain rights to the Leviathan is the price of peace, as the state of nature cannot
have peace. However, the Leviathan itself is also governed by the contract, and if it becomes corrupt, it
must be overthrown and replaced. Works
* Leviathan
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René Descartes
Name: René Descartes
Born: March 31, 1596, La Haye en Touraine (now Descartes), France Died: February 11, 1650,
Stockholm
René Descartes (1596–1650) was a French scientist, philosopher and Roman Catholic of the
Enlightenment period who is often considered to be the founder of modern philosophy, breaking away
from the ways of the middle ages. Descartes departs from the philosophy of scholasticism with a concept
of universal doubt. He put much faith in the scientific method as a source of knowledge. Descartes was
famous for the idea of "Cogito, ergo sum" (Originally written as "Je pense, donc je suis", both meaning "I
think, therefore I am")—meaning that any thinking being rather promptly asserts and proves its own

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existence, if only to itself. Descartes wanted to reconstruct his own beliefs on a purely rational basis, and
began by doubting everything he believed. He arrived at a single piece of knowledge that he could not
reasonably doubt, which is "I think, therefore I am", an argument often referred to as "the Cogito". In his
attempt to rebuild his beliefs, Descartes also sought to prove the existence of God through the idea of
God in the mind of a thinking being. He also accepted the ontological proof of God that had been
previously described by St. Anselm. Following this assertion, he believes the reality of the physical world
as we know it through the conclusion that God would not try to fool the thinkers with illusions. For
Descartes, the physical world and the human mind are completely distinct entities, connected only
through God. Philosophers generally agree that Descartes was fundamentally unable to reconstruct his
beliefs in a purely rational manner, and still hold that the Cogito may be the only knowledge that we can
hold from reason alone. The response to the perceived failure of Descartes' work has been mixed. Later
Enlightenment philosophers, such as Kant sought to hold onto the values of the Enlightenment thinking,
chiefly that human beings know things primarily through reason. Other philosophers, particularlyDavid
Hume and Thomas Reid, rejected the foundation of Descartes' argument, in favour of the view that
certainempirical assumptions are neccessary for knowledge. Despite the general failure of Descartes'
overall goal, his work sparked a great transition in the direction of philosophy and has great influence on
philosophical work today. Additionally, René Descartes made several advances in science and
mathematics, particularly in geometry and algebra. Descartes' Works
* Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciences (1637)
* Meditations On First Philosophy (1641)
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Blaise Pascal
Name: Blasie Pascal
Born: June 19, 1623
Died: August 19, 1662
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) was a French philosopher and mathematician. His most profound
philosophical work, Pensées, remained incomplete at the time of his death. Pascal's Wager
The best known portion of Pascal's religious philosophy isPascal's Wager, his justification for belief in
God. Pascal recognized the apparent impossibility of determining whether or not God exists. Instead,
each person must decide whether to believe in God, or not to (as either atheist or agnostic). Pascal
guessed that the expected benefits of believing in God outweighed the benefits of not believing, and
made the decision to believe. In Christianity, as in many similar religions, belief in God comes with
various rewards, including the entrance to heaven. Denial of God's existence, however, can be met with
punishment. Pascal explains that if one chooses to believe in God, and God does exist, then those
rewards become available. If, however, one chooses not to believe in God, and God does exist, then that
person may be subjected to misery. In either case, if God does not exist, the status quo remains and
nothing is really lost. Since it's impossible to be certain of the existence of God, Pascal suggests that
belief in him is the "safer" bet. Several opponents of this theory discuss the moral issues of choosing to
wager for God in this manner. (In essence, following Pascal's Wager is a selfish act and is devoid of any
real spiritual journey.) Pascal's Wager only suggests, though, that reason requires you to wager for God,
not that one should wager one's beliefs. Other critics of the philosophy point out a few flaws in this
approach. For example, there may be many gods, or there may be one God, but that God is of a
different religion (so your wager for God may be for the wrong God). Atheists also suggest that reason
can disprove the existence of God, and for that reason the probability of God's existence is 0, and the
wager is meaningless.
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Student by ColdielianGa1 | Modern Philosophers ------------------------------------------------- Thomas Hobbes Name: Thomas Hobbes Born: April 5, 1588, Wiltshire, England Died: December 4, 1679 English Philosopher Thomas Hobbes, most famous forLeviathan, studied Physics and Mathematics and took a keen interest in politics. His controversial writings portray life on its most basic level-as the biological process. Hobbes did not believe in any inherent goodness to men, stating that fear is the driving force behind man's submission to a sovereignty. Leviathan Hobbes' most prominent work, Leviathan, describes his version of the social contract theory. Originally, says Hobbes, human beings existed in what he calls the "state of nature". In this state, morality does not exist. Since this is not a world that provides any level of security, human beings come together and form societies - because they know that this is the best course of action for their own (selfish) protection. "The social contract" is the agreement, explicit or not, between members of a society that describes morality - the rules of the society. Hobbes also points out that those who reject the contract remain in the state of nature, and that there is no moral value assigned to any actions taken against them. In his text, Hobbes describes the Leviathan, that is, the government or sovereign authority that governs the contract. The loss of certain rights to the Leviathan is the price of peace, as the state of natur ...
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