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Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who wrote the 1651 book, Leviathan, a political treatise that described the "natural" (pre-social) life of mankind as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and…

Hobbes, Thomas

(Encyclopedia) Hobbes, ThomasHobbes, Thomashŏbz [key], 1588–1679, English philosopher, grad. Magdalen College, Oxford, 1608. For many years a tutor in the Cavendish family, Hobbes took great interest…

Malmesbury

(Encyclopedia) MalmesburyMalmesburymämzˈbərē [key], town (1991 pop. 2,552), Wiltshire, S England. Agricultural and electrical engineering are important to the local economy. Malmesbury is famous for…

Erastus, Thomas

(Encyclopedia) Erastus, Thomas, 1524–83, Swiss Protestant theologian, a physician, whose original name was Lüber, Lieber, or Liebler. As a follower of Huldreich Zwingli, he supported the Swiss leader…

Tenison, Thomas

(Encyclopedia) Tenison, ThomasTenison, Thomastĕnˈĭsən [key], 1636–1715, English churchman, archbishop of Canterbury (1695–1715). In 1680 he became rector of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London; there he…

social contract

(Encyclopedia) social contract, agreement or covenant by which men are said to have abandoned the “state of nature” to form the society in which they now live. The theory of such a contract, first…

sensationalism

(Encyclopedia) sensationalism, in philosophy, the theory that there are no innate ideas and that knowledge is derived solely from the sense data of experience. The idea was discussed by Greek…

Butler, Joseph

(Encyclopedia) Butler, Joseph, 1692–1752, English bishop and exponent of natural theology. Butler held a series of church offices, ending his career as bishop of Durham. His principle writings are…

determinism

(Encyclopedia) determinism, philosophical thesis that every event is the inevitable result of antecedent causes. Applied to ethics and psychology, determinism usually involves a denial of free will,…