Name: Alondra Mae P. Menzon Teacher: Carlos Marcelo, M.A.Ed.

Grade & Section: 12-RIEMANN Date: October 03,2018

Thomas Hobbes
English philosopher and political theorist

The English philosopher and political theorist Thomas Hobbes was one of the central
figures of political thought behind the British Empire. His major work, "Leviathan,"
published in 1651, expressed his idea that basic human motives are selfish.

Thomas Hobbes.

Thomas Hobbes, (born April 5, 1588, Westport, Wiltshire, England—died December 4,

1679, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire), English philosopher, scientist, and historian, best
known for his political philosophy, especially as articulatedin his
masterpiece Leviathan (1651). Hobbes viewed government primarily as a device for
ensuring collective security. Political authority is justified by a hypothetical social
contract among the many that vests in a sovereign person or entity the responsibility
for the safety and well-being of all. In metaphysics, Hobbes defended materialism, the
view that only material things are real. His scientific writings present all observed
phenomena as the effects of matter in motion. Hobbes was not only a scientist in his
own right but a great systematizer of the scientific findings of his contemporaries,
including Galileoand Johannes Kepler. His enduring contribution is as a political
philosopher who justified wide-ranging government powers on the basis of the self-
interested consent of citizens.

Childhood
Born prematurely on April 5, 1588, when his mother heard of the coming invasion of
the Spanish Armada (a fleet of Spanish warships), Thomas Hobbes later reported that
"my mother gave birth to twins: myself and fear." His father, also named Thomas
Hobbes, was the vicar (a clergyman in charge of a church) of Westport near
Malmesbury in Gloucestershire, England. After being involved in a fight with another
clergyman outside his own church, the elder Thomas Hobbes was forced to flee to
London, England, leaving his wife, two boys and a girl behind.
Thomas was then raised and educated by an uncle and studied at the local schools. By
the age of six he was studying Latin and Greek. Also at this time, Hobbes became
absorbed in the classic literature of ancient Greece. From 1603 to 1608 he studied at
Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was bored by the philosophy of Aristotelianism
(studying the works of Aristotle, a fourth-century B.C.E. Greek philosopher).

His philosophy
The questions Hobbes posed to the world in the seventeenth century are still relevant
today, and Hobbes still maintains a strong influence in the world of philosophy. He
challenged the relationship between science and religion, and the natural limitations of
political power.
The diverse intellectual paths of the seventeenth century, which are generically called
modern classical philosophy, began by rejecting authorities of the past—especially
Aristotle and his peers. Descartes, who founded the rationalist tradition, and Sir Francis
Bacon (1561–1626), who is considered the originator of modern empiricism (political
theory regarding the British Empire), both sought new methods for achieving scientific
knowledge and a clear conception of reality.
Hobbes was fascinated by the problem of sense perception, and he extended Galileo's
(1564–1642) mechanical physics into an explanation of human cognition (process of
learning). He believed the origin of all thought is sensation, which consists of mental
images produced by the pressure of motion of external objects. Thus Hobbes
anticipated later thought by explaining differences between the external object and the
internal image. These sense images are extended by the power of memory and
imagination. Understanding and reason, which distinguish men from other animals, are
a product of our ability to use speech.

Ayn Rand Biography Author Ayn Rand wrote the best-

selling books 'The Fountainhead'
Philosopher, Writer (1905–1982) and 'Atlas Shrugged,' and
promoted the philosophy of
Objectivism.

Born in Russia in 1905, Ayn Rand moved to the

United States in 1926 and tried to establish
herself in Hollywood. Her first novel, We the
Living (1936), championed her rejection of
collectivist values in favor of individual self
interest, a belief that became more explicit with
her subsequent novels The Fountainhead(1943)
and Atlas Shrugged (1957). Following the
immense success of the latter, Rand promoted
her philosophy of Objectivism through courses,
lectures and literature. She died in New York City
on March 6, 1982.

Early Years
Ayn Rand was born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum
on February 2, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The oldest daughter of Jewish parents (and eventually an avowed atheist), she spent
her early years in comfort thanks to her dad's success as a pharmacist, proving a
brilliant student.

In 1917, her father's shop was suddenly seized by Bolshevik soldiers, forcing the family
to resume life in poverty in the Crimea. The situation profoundly impacted young Alissa,
who developed strong feelings toward government intrusion into individual livelihood.
She returned to her city of birth to attend the University of Petrograd, graduating in
1924, and then enrolled at the State Institute for Cinema Arts to study screenwriting.

Granted a visa to visit relatives in Chicago, Alissa left for the United States in early
1926, never to look back. She took on her soon-to-be-famous pen name and, after a
few months in Chicago, moved to Hollywood to become a screenwriter.

'The Fountainhead' and 'Atlas Shrugged'

In 1937, Rand began researching a new novel by working for New York architect Ely
Jacques Kahn. The result, after years of writing and more rejections, was The
Fountainhead. Underscoring Rand’s individualistic underpinnings, the book’s hero,
architect Howard Roark, refuses to adhere to conventions, going so far as to blowing up
one of his own creations. While not an immediate success, The Fountainhead eventually
achieved strong sales, and at the end of the decade became a feature film, with Gary
Cooper in the role of Roark.

Rand's ideas became even more explicit with the 1957 publication of Atlas Shrugged. A
massive work of more than 1,000 pages, Atlas Shruggedportrays a future in which
leading industrialists drop out of a collectivist society that exploits their talents,
culminating with a notoriously lengthy speech by protagonist John Galt. The novel drew
some harsh reviews, but became an immediate best seller.

Rand soon honed her philosophy of what she termed "Objectivism": a belief in a
concrete reality, from which individuals can discern existing truths, and the ultimate
moral value of the pursuit of self interest. The development of this system essentially
ended her career as a novelist: In 1958, the Nathaniel Branden Institute formed to
spread her message through lectures, courses and literature, and in 1962, the author
and her top disciple launched The Objectivist Newsletter. Her books during this period,
including For the New Intellectual (1961) and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (1966),
were primarily comprised of previously published essays and other works.

Rand was working on a television adaptation of Atlas Shrugged when she died of heart
failure at her home in New York City on March 6, 1982.

Legacy

Although she weathered criticism for her perceived literary shortcomings and
philosophical arguments, Rand undeniably left her mark on the Western culture she
embraced. In 1985, Peikoff founded the Ayn Rand Institute to continue her teachings.
The following year, Braden's ex-wife, Barbara, published a tell-all memoir, The Passion
of Ayn Rand, which later was made into a movie starring Helen Mirren.
Interest in Rand's works resurfaced alongside the rise of the Tea Party movement
during President Barack Obama's administration, with leading political proponents
like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz proclaiming their admiration for the author. In 2010, the
Ayn Rand Institute announced that more than 500,000 copies of Atlas Shrugged had
been sold the previous year.

In 2017, Tony-winning director Ivo van Hove reintroduced The Fountainhead to the

American public with a production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Having originated
at Toneelgroep Amsterdam in the Netherlands, van Hove's version featured his
performers speaking in Dutch, with their words projected onto a screen in English.