The Logic of Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes

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1 University Press Scholarship Online You are looking at 1-10 of 50 items for: keywords : Leviathan The Logic of Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes Item type: book acprof:oso/ This book presents the most plausible reading of Thomas Hobbes's moral and political theory based on his book, Leviathan. Hobbes constructs a political theory that bases unlimited political authority on unlimited individualism. The conclusion requires the premiss; anything less than unlimited individualism would justify only limited political authority. But the premiss is too strong for the conclusions; as this book shows, from unlimited individualism only anarchy follows. The theory is a failure. But it has two outstanding merits. First of all, Hobbes introduces a number of important moral and political concepts that deserve our attention. Obligation is his basic moral concept, while authorisation is his basic political concept. Hobbes relies neither on the goodwill of men their willingness to consider each other's interests for their own sake, and not as means to self-satisfaction nor on the efficacy of institutions, as the means of both concentrating and limiting political power. Aside from political and moral theory, the book explores Hobbes's views on the nature of man, sovereignty, and God. Sovereignty and the Sword: Harrington, Hobbes, and Mixed Government in the English Civil Wars Arihiro Fukuda Published in print: 1997 Published Online: October 2011 ISBN: eisbn: Item type: book acprof:oso/ The English civil wars of the mid-seventeenth century produced two political thinkers of genius: Thomas Hobbes and James Harrington. They are known today as spokesmen of opposite positions, Hobbes of absolutism, Harrington of republicanism. Yet behind their disagreements, Page 1 of 6

2 this book argues, there lay a common perspective. For both writers, the primary aim was the restoration of peace and order to a divided land. Both men saw the conventional thinking of the time as unequal to that task. Their greatest works Hobbes's Leviathan of 1651, Harrington's Oceana of 1656 proposed the reconstruction of the English polity on novel bases. It was not over the principle of sovereignty that the two men differed. The author of this book shows Harrington to have been, no less than Hobbes, a theorist of absolute sovereignty. But where Hobbes repudiated the mixed governments of classical antiquity, Harrington's study of them convinced him that mixed government, far from being the enemy of absolute sovereignty, was its essential foundation. Behemoth and the Beagle: Creation According to Job William P. Brown in The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder Published in print: 2010 Published Online: May 2010 ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ God s answer to Job is the focus of this chapter. God presents a panoramic sweep of creation that comprises the cosmic, the meteorological, and the biological. Its primary focus, however, is on the diversity and vitality of animal life in the wilderness. What was considered marginal from Job s perspective now takes center stage in God s answer, which reflects God s biophilia. While de-centered, Job is shown to be integrally related to the wild. He was made by God with Behemoth, suggesting Job is linked with all creatures, including monstrous Leviathan. Biology, too, discerns a link that connects all life on Earth, a genetic link (DNA). God s answer, moreover, takes Job on a grand tour of taxonomy, not unlike Charles Darwin s around-the-world voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle early in his career. Read in the light of evolution, Job presents a powerful testimony to biodiversity and affirms the intrinsic value of all life. The Passion of the Creator: The Manifold Nature of Nature in Psalm 104 William P. Brown in The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder Published in print: 2010 Published Online: May 2010 ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ Page 2 of 6

3 Like Job, Psalm 104 celebrates God s diverse creation. Both Job and the psalm, in fact, share several animals in common, from the lion to Leviathan. The psalmist, however, highlights the botanical as well as the biological. In his eyes, the cedars of Lebanon are among creation s most majestic features. Whereas Job highlights the animals range and independence, the psalm emphasizes their respective habitats. Creation is a habitat for biodiversity, not just for humanity. Humanity is merely one species among many species, each seeking its livelihood within its prescribed environment or niche. As in Job, God is the provider and sustainer of life. Science, with its ongoing discovery of species, expands and deepens the psalmist s awe, as well as underlines the fundamental importance of habitat. Other Animals in the Christian Tradition Paul Waldau in The Specter of Speciesism: Buddhist and Christian Views of Animals Published in print: 2003 Published Online: November 2003 ISBN: eisbn: This chapter first addresses claims and terms found in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament, such as covenants and Leviathan. New Testament references to and views of other animals are then examined. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the vocabulary and the views held by major post biblical theologians based on an examination of the Greek and Latin words used by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Augustine of Hippo, as well as various words found in the Septuagint and Vulgate. A Hobbist Plan Paul Russell in The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion Published in print: 2008 Published Online: May 2008 ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ The central thesis of this chapter is that the scope and structure of Hume's Treatise is modeled or planned after that of Hobbes's The Elements of Law and that in this respect there exists an important and unique relationship between these two works. The immediate significance of this relationship between Hobbes's and Hume's project Page 3 of 6

4 of the science of man is that it indicates the underlying unity and coherence of Hume's entire project in the Treatise. However, although the plan of the Treatise is modeled closely after Hobbes's work, we should not infer that there are no significant issues where Hobbes and Hume diverge. On the contrary, there are (several) significant issues where Hobbes and Hume do indeed diverge an observation that is in no way inconsistent with the fact that Hume's project is modeled after Hobbes's similar project of a science of man. Nevertheless, once we recognize the nature and significance of Hume's Hobbist plan in the Treatise, we are in a position to excavate and systematically uncover Hume's fundamental irreligious intentions throughout the Treatise. Heaven and the Defeat of the Beast: Social Aspects of Discipleship David Brown in Discipleship and Imagination: Christian Tradition and Truth Published in print: 2000 Published Online: November 2003 ISBN: eisbn: The first part of the chapter considers some of the positive reasons why heaven as a present reality came to supplement and even supplant eschatology as a purely future concept. Thereafter, consideration is given to the question of why, if modern Christianity is right to discount the idea of hell as a place of eternal punishment, it nonetheless was allowed by God to survive in Christian consciousness for so long. In seeking an answer, the rituals of death, the invention of purgatory, and images of Satan and the Last Judgement are explored at some length, the discussion concluding with note being taken of how the contrasting images of Leviathan and of the Unicorn also contributed to this overall picture. The Nature of Man in The Logic of Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes acprof:oso/ This chapter discusses the logic in Thomas Hobbes's book, Leviathan. To understand morals and politics is to understand man. The chapter Page 4 of 6

5 argues that the body politic that gives substance to moral conceptions is the product of human reason reflecting on human passion. It also asserts that Hobbes's psychology is essential to his moral and political theories. This view has been challenged by many recent interpreters and critics. The chapter begins with a statement of that argument and then examines Hobbes's conception of his own method. It shows why Hobbes considers psychology to be the necessary foundation of moral and political science, and leads into his account of the nature of man. The chapter also states that the Introduction to Leviathan compares the making of Commonwealth by the art of man with the making of man by the art of nature. Initial Theory of Sovereignty in The Logic of Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes acprof:oso/ This chapter indicates a departure from the usual interpretation of Thomas Hobbes's political theory. Although there are differences between the presentation of the theory in Leviathan and the presentation in Hobbes's earlier political writings, little significance has been attached to them. The chapter examines Hobbes's initial theory, focusing upon those weaknesses that are at least partially overcome by the alterations in Leviathan. It includes a discussion of what Hobbes terms sovereignty by acquisition, since this is adequately explained only by the initial theory and fits uncomfortably into the framework of the later system. Before turning to the details, however, the chapter establishes one crucial distinction that Hobbes never sufficiently develops in any presentation of his political theory: the distinction between sovereign right and sovereign power. Theory of Authorization in The Logic of Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes acprof:oso/ Page 5 of 6

6 This chapter suggests that the political doctrine of Leviathan represents a major advance in Thomas Hobbes's thinking, one which depends almost entirely on the introduction of the concept of authorisation. It sets out the structure of Hobbes's mature political theory in a manner that shows the essential role played by authorisation. The chapter employs the method of analysis used in setting out Hobbes's theory of morality: first, it gives formal definitions of Hobbes's primary political concepts; second, it provides material definitions of these concepts, and indicates briefly the content of the theory; third, it discusses a number of problems that arise in stating Hobbes's theory; fourth and finally, it assesses the adequacy of the theory, both in terms of Hobbes's aims and in terms of its interests. Page 6 of 6