Chapter 11 Of Leviathan By Thomas Hobbes

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In chapter 11 of Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes presents God as the cause of things that before had not a cause. His concept of “God” is similar to that of Descartes; God is an eternal entity larger than man’s mind can fathom. As chapter 12 unfolds, Hobbes puts this conceptual God in practice as he attributes Him to the beginning of our materialistic world. God is the “First Mover,” created by mankind’s anxiety about the future. Thus, religion came to be because of this fear that compelled them to blame someone or something to their fortunes. Hobbes reasons that while man searches for the cause of the beginning, religion “hinders them from searching for the cause of other things” (73). What Hobbes defines as “new” religions are sought from the “first