Hobbes' Journey to Materialism
Embracing Epicurus in an Age of Idealism
Picture, if you will, the intellectual landscape of 17th century England. It's a world where the ghosts of ancient Greek philosophers still loom large, their ideas echoing through the halls of academia and the chambers of power. In this world, a contrarian thinker named Thomas Hobbes is about to set the philosophical world on its ear.
Born in 1588, the same year as the Spanish Armada's ill-fated invasion attempt, Hobbes came of age in a time of profound change and uncertainty. The Renaissance was in full swing, but the shadows of medieval scholasticism still lingered. Platonic idealism, reinvigorated during the Renaissance, held sway in many intellectual circles. The notion that true reality lay in a realm of perfect, immutable Forms beyond our physical world was not just accepted - it was revered.
But just like our friend Epicurus, young Thomas was not one for reverence without reason.
A Mind Shaped by Turbulent Times
As Hobbes matured, so did his skepticism of the prevailing philosophical orthodoxies. The English Civil War erupted in 1642, plunging his homeland into chaos. Witnessing the brutality of conflict firsthand, Hobbes began to question the lofty ideals of his contemporaries. How could there be perfect, eternal Forms when the world around him was in such violent flux?
It was during this tumultuous period that Hobbes encountered the ideas of Epicurus, the ancient Greek philosopher who had been largely overshadowed by Plato and Aristotle. Epicurus' atomism - the theory that the universe consists only of indivisible particles (atoms) moving in empty space - struck a chord with Hobbes.
In his fascinating biography "Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction," Noel Malcolm describes this intellectual awakening:
"Hobbes's discovery of Epicurean atomism came as a revelation. Here was a philosophy that explained the world without recourse to mysterious, incorporeal entities."
Embracing the Atomic Dance
Hobbes' embrace of Epicurean atomism was not just a philosophical choice - it was a radical departure from the prevailing wisdom of his time. In an era when many still clung to Aristotelian physics and Platonic idealism, Hobbes dared to imagine a universe composed entirely of matter in motion.
In "Leviathan," his magnum opus, Hobbes laid out his materialist worldview in no uncertain terms:
"The world (I mean not the earth only, that denominates the lovers of it 'worldly men,' but the universe, that is, the whole mass of all things that are) is corporeal, that is to say, body; and hath the dimensions of magnitude, namely, length, breadth, and depth: also every part of body is likewise body, and hath the like dimensions; and consequently every part of the universe is body, and that which is not body is no part of the universe: and because the universe is all, that which is no part of it is nothing, and consequently nowhere."
This is a comprehensive restatement of the axiom that Epicurus encouraged all followers to memorize and recite over and over to remind them of the futility of fear in the face of death:
“Atoms and void and nothing else, atoms and void and nothing else.”
Just like Epicurus, Hobbes recognized that the universe was made of material stuff. As such, there is nothing in it which is mysterious or beyond human comprehension. For Hobbes, there is no realm of perfect Forms, no incorporeal soul, no divine plan. There is only matter in motion, atoms dancing in the void.
Swimming Against the Idealist Tide
Unlike many philosophers of his time, Hobbes was deeply interested in the emerging natural sciences. He corresponded with Galileo and was fascinated by the new mechanical philosophy that was beginning to explain the world in terms of matter and motion.
As Quentin Skinner notes in "Hobbes and Republican Liberty":
"Hobbes's materialism was not merely a philosophical position, but a scientific one. He believed that all phenomena, including human thought and behavior, could be explained in terms of physical causes."
This scientific worldview put Hobbes at odds not only with Platonic idealists but also with the Stoics, whose belief in a divine, rational order governing the universe seemed increasingly untenable in light of new discoveries about the physical world.
Finding Kindred Spirits in Ancient Atomists
In his rejection of idealism and embrace of materialism, Hobbes found kindred spirits in the ancient atomists, particularly Epicurus and Lucretius. Noel Malcolm, the author of “Thomas Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction," writes–
"Hobbes's interest in atomism probably dates from the mid-1630s, when he encountered the writings of Pierre Gassendi, who was reviving Epicurean philosophy." (p. 146)
Inspired by Epicurus, Hobbes sought to explain the world without recourse to supernatural entities or mystical forces.
In "De Corpore," Hobbes writes:
"The first principles of philosophy are the phantasms of sense and imagination... There is no other way to knowledge than through the senses."
This sentiment echoes Epicurus' insistence on the reliability of sense experience and his rejection of Platonic Forms. For both Hobbes and Epicurus, the physical world we perceive is the only world there is.
Against Ataraxia
While Hobbes found much to admire in Epicurean atomism and materialism, it would be a mistake to call him an Epicurean. He flatly rejected the idea that a life free from mental disturbance is possible.
"For there is no such thing as perpetual tranquility of mind, while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense." (Leviathan, Chapter VI)
Where Epicurus taught that one could achieve a state of ataraxia by limiting desires and avoiding mental disturbances, Hobbes saw perpetual motion and unrest as inherent to the human condition.
Hobbes' view stems from his materialist understanding of human psychology. As Samantha Frost notes in her insightful work "Lessons from a Materialist Thinker: Hobbesian Reflections on Ethics and Politics" (2008):
"For Hobbes, the ceaseless motion of matter that constitutes life necessarily produces a restlessness in human beings. This restlessness manifests as a constant succession of appetites and aversions, hopes and fears." (p. 78)
This perspective aligns more closely with Hobbes' vision of human nature as inherently competitive and fearful, always striving in a "war of all against all." It's a far cry from the Epicurean garden, where wise individuals could cultivate tranquility through philosophical reflection and modest living.
Yet, this divergence doesn't negate the profound influence of Epicureanism on Hobbes' thought. Rather, it illustrates how Hobbes selectively incorporated and adapted ancient ideas to fit his own observations and theories. As A.P. Martinich argues in "Hobbes: A Biography" (1999):
"Hobbes' rejection of ataraxia as a [sic] achievable goal doesn't diminish his debt to Epicureanism. Instead, it shows how he built upon Epicurean materialism to develop a unique philosophy suited to the tumultuous world he inhabited." (p. 215)
Of course, Epicurus too lived in tumultuous times that shaped how he saw the world. He saw political chaos and violence everywhere and still believed that it was possible to live a life that was generally pleasant even in the face of certain death, tragedy and loss.
A belief in a materialist universe is empirically true and much closer to reality than the views of either Plato or the Stoics. Yet how we respond to the fact of materialism is dependent in part on our personality and the way we see the world. Epicurus saw the world one way and Hobbes the other. But we shouldn’t think that because Hobbes lived after Epicurus that he has the final word. Ultimately, whether you believe that your own inner restlessness can be tamed
Ειρήνη και Ασφάλεια
Peace and Safety
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Sources:
1. Frost, Samantha. "Lessons from a Materialist Thinker: Hobbesian Reflections on Ethics and Politics." Stanford University Press, 2008.
2. Hobbes, Thomas. "Leviathan." 1651.
3. Hobbes, Thomas. "De Corpore." 1655.
4. Malcolm, Noel. "Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction." Oxford University Press, 2002.
5. Martinich, A.P. "Hobbes: A Biography." Cambridge University Press, 1999.
6. Skinner, Quentin. "Hobbes and Republican Liberty." Cambridge University Press, 2008.
7. Wilson, Catherine. "Epicureanism at the Origins of Modernity." Oxford University Press, 2008.