Hobbes's Theory of Real Power & Civil Order: The Foundations of His Political Philosophy Reconsidered

Abstract

The final word in the interpretation of a great political thinker seems never to be said. Part of the genius of a Plato (or a Hobbes) appears to lie in the Delphic quality of much of what they have to say. Professor Sorensen here attempts a major reconstruction of the usual explanations of why Hobbes arrived at the political philosophy with which we are all familiar. As Sorensen says, however, this reconstruction can only be sketched out within the limits of a journal article, and we can therefore hope that our readers' questions will be answered in a later, fuller treatment.