The philosophy and beliefs of Thomas Hobbes
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain who Thomas Hobbes was, his context, and why his religious views were considered controversial.
Key learning points
- Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who lived during the Renaissance and Enlightenment period.
- He is most famous for his political philosophy and his 1651 book, 'Leviathan'.
- Hobbes provided a cosmological argument for the existence of God, saying that God is "the first cause of all causes".
- There is debate about what Hobbes' religious views were as he held some contradicting views.
- One example of this contradiction is that he denies the existence of a soul but accepts the existence of God.
Keywords
Cosmological argument - an argument that attempts to prove God's existence as the first cause of the universe.
'Leviathan' - a book by Thomas Hobbes that argues for a strong authority to maintain order in society
Materialism - the belief that everything, including thoughts and emotions, arises from physical matter
Sovereign - a supreme ruler
Thomas Hobbes - an English philosopher (1588–1679) known for his political philosophy
Common misconception
Hobbes rejected all religious beliefs.
Hobbes did not reject religion outright. Instead, he argued that religious interpretations and practices should be subject to the authority of the sovereign for the sake of social order.
Teacher tip
Task B2 could be used as part of a larger piece of work on how Hobbes and Rousseau aligned religion and politics. It could be completed as an oracy task or as a cloze (fill in the gaps) exercise.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What is philosophy?
Q2.Which philosopher is considered to be the father of western philosophy?
Q3.Which philosopher came up with the analogy of the cave?
Q4.Aristotle said you need to appeal to three things when making an argument. Match these to the correct meanings.
Q5.Which philosopher came up with the term ‘blik’?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
Q2.Which of the following is true of Hobbes?
Q3.What do we call academics and thinkers who study ultimate questions about existence, knowledge, ethics and reality, using logic to explore these topics?
Q4.As a political philosopher, what question was Hobbes interested in?
Q5.What argument did Hobbes’ cosmological argument outline?
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: The philosophy and beliefs of Thomas Hobbes, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: The philosophy and beliefs of Thomas Hobbes, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Religion and politics in the Enlightenment: How were they aligned? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.