ABSTRACT

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) is not primarily regarded as a philosopher of education; however, the only firm policy recommendation he made in his Leviathan (1651) was for the immediate reform of university teaching by the sovereign power. 1 After initially coyly skirting the issue of who, in his view, might be competent to teach the universities – ‘any man that sees what I am doing may easily perceive what I think’ – he subsequently declared his hope that, at ‘one time or other this writing of mine may fall into the hands of a sovereign’ who will ensure ‘the public teaching of it’ (30:14, p. 226; 31:41, pp. 243–244). The sovereign monarch or assembly should also see to it that other doctrine be censored and their teaching suppressed, so that none but true – that is, Hobbesian – doctrines might be put before the people (18:9, p. 113). Once taken, Hobbes thought these steps might enable him to surpass even Plato by successfully ‘convert[ing] this truth of speculation into the utility of practice’ (31:41, p. 244).