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Questions concerning Liberty, Necessity, and Chance

Thomas Hobbes · 1656

Hobbes's 1656 book printing his and Bishop Bramhall's arguments together in their famous dispute over free will.

Hobbes wrote this book, setting out his side of the free-will debate with Bishop Bramhall.

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Title page of 'The Questions Concerning Liberty, Necessity, and Chance', a black-and-white scan. Text reads: clearly stated and debated between Dr. Bramhall, Bishop of Derry, and Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. Printed London 1656 for Andrew Crook at the Green Dragon, St Paul's Church-yard. Handwritten name 'Hez. Burton' appears at right.
Thomas Hobbes, The Questions Concerning Liberty, Necessity, and Chance, 1656. Digitized scan from Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and printed in 1656, titled The Questions Concerning Liberty, Necessity, and Chance. It reprints an earlier exchange and adds Hobbes's reply to Bishop Bramhall.

Why it matters

The book documents a long-running public debate between Hobbes and Bramhall over free will and determinism. Hobbes's arguments here are considered an early, clear statement of psychological determinism, important in the history of philosophy's free-will controversy.

Look closer

  • Why might Hobbes have chosen to print both sides of the argument together?
  • What does this debate tell us about how philosophical disagreements were conducted in print in the 1600s?
  • What questions about free will does the title suggest were being debated?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Thomas Hobbes on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Engraved frontispiece of the 1642 Paris edition of Hobbes's De Cive. Top panel shows a crowded scene of figures in clouds and a fiery landscape with a winged angel and a group of people. Bottom panel has a central banner titled Elementorum Philosophiae Sectio Tertia De Cive with Latin text, flanked by a crowned female figure holding scales labeled Imperium and a figure with a bow and spear labeled Libertas, with a landscape and the word Religio across the middle.Book

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De Cive

Thomas Hobbes · 1642

Line engraving portrait of Thomas Hobbes, a man with long wavy hair, a large white collar, and dark robes, shown in an oval frame inscribed with his name in Latin. Below is a Latin inscription and the printer's line 'London, Printed for Will. Crooke'.Painting

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Portrait of Thomas Hobbes, Line Engraving

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Thomas Hobbes · 1640

Engraved title page reading 'The Workes of Homer Engl: by T: Hobbes', with a bust of Homer above, two armoured warriors with spears flanking the title, and an oval portrait of Hobbes below. Imprint reads London, printed for W. Crooke, 1677.Artifact

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Title Page of The Workes of Homer, Translated by Thomas Hobbes

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