The political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes can be best understood in the context of his life. He was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1588. His father died when he was only a few months old, leaving him and his mother to rely on relatives for support. When he was about five years old, his mother remarried and moved away from Wiltshire to London.
Hobbes had little formal education but was taught by private tutors. In 1608 he entered Oxford University as a student in mathematics and philosophy, where he met some of the great minds of the time including Galileo Galilei and Robert Boyle. He remained at Oxford until 1620 when he received his Bachelor’s degree in civil and moral philosophy.
During this time Hobbes also began writing political treatises that made him unpopular with many people in England because they disagreed with his ideas about government power and control over people’s lives. In 1629 he fled from England and traveled around Europe for several years before returning home permanently in 1637 after King Charles I ascended to the throne.
Philosopher believed that government should be strong enough to control citizens’ actions for their own good. This meant that he supported absolute monarchy — where one person rules with unlimited power, rather than democracy or republicanism (where power is shared by many). He also opposed religious toleration because he believed that religious differences would lead to conflict among citizens.
