What were Thomas Hobbes philosophical ideas?

Hobbes spanned a number of Philosophical doctrines, all loosely based around his basic Empiricism. He was a materialist, in the scientific tradition of the time believing all that could be knowable, and therfore all that could be discussed, was a material object. This means that he is also a sensationalist - that ideas are only material things, and result from the actions of the external world on the senses. This means he rejects metaphysical ideas, and this arguably includes God.

In terms of his political theories, Hobbes is one of the original Social Contract Theorists, positing that governance is justified through the agreement of men toward happiness, and away from an animalistic life Hobbes called 'The State Of Nature'. His ideal governance is Monarchical and highly regulated - a state we may now call totalitarian.