Christian Cyclopedia

(1588–1679). Philos.; b. Westport (Malinesbury), Wiltshire, Eng.; educ. Oxford. Rationalist (see Rationalism); held that sensation is the only source of knowledge; held that man emerges from a state of nature in which he is free, but exchanges his freedom for security by social contract (see Government). Best statement of his pol. and soc. philos. is in Leviathan; other works include Behemoth; The Art of Rhetoric; The Elements of Law; Elementa philosophica de cive. See also Deism, III 1.