ABSTRACT
Thomas Hobbes described a method of argument, or a model of explanation, that he thought would serve to achieve scientific knowledge. That method has frequently been misconstrued because of Hobbes's use of the term "cause." Science, as far as Hobbes was concerned, could be knowledge only of conditional statements of the connections of names. That is to say, in modern terms, it was concerned only with conceptual connections and not with merely empirical connections. Hobbes insisted that a calculus that was to constitute a science be interpreted; he had no dream of attaining genuine scientific knowledge by the use of pure reason divorced from experience and did not play down the role of experience. Hobbes believed that the lack of development of the relevant science held back knowledge in the field of government or, more generally, civil affairs.
