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Hobbes spent many periods in England and on the continent. He was in contact with Mersenne and his group on a number of these occasions, in particular the time he spent following 1640 when he feared for his safety in England. He became interested in light and wrote Tractatus opticus which was published by Mersenne .
He wrote on geometry, not always correctly as De Morgan pointed out, but he loved the subject. However Wallis's Algebra he described as a scab of symbols which disfigured the page as if a hen had been scraping there.
Hobbes attacked Wallis and others in Six Lessons to the Professors of Mathematics in the University of Oxford (1656). In 1660 Hobbes attacked the 'new' methods of mathematical analysis. In Dialogus Physicus, sive de Natura Aeris (1661) he attacked Boyle and those setting up the Royal Society. Wallis replied with unfair charges of disloyalty but Hobbes ended the argument with Mr. Hobbes Considered in His Loyalty, Religion, Reputation, and Manners (1662).
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
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List of References (21 books/articles)
| Some Quotations (8)
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| A Poster of Thomas Hobbes
| Mathematicians born in the same country
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| Other Web sites |
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JOC/EFR January 1997
The URL of this page is: |
School_of_Mathematics_and_Statistics University_of_St_Andrews,_Scotland |
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Hobbes.html
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