Hobbes, Thomas

Abstract

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) is widely regarded as one of the finest political philosophers in the Western tradition. His masterpiece – Leviathan or The Matter, Forme, and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil (1651) – is famous for its insights into war and peace, for the exploration of the role of power in politics, and above all, for the elaboration of the concepts of state sovereignty and political obligation. At a time when the divine right of kings was still common currency, Hobbes used the social contract as a framework to explain the rights and duties of citizens; he appealed to reason instead of tradition and custom; he emphasized the natural equality and liberty of men; he addressed the people and their educators, rather than princes or kings. Hobbes was aware of the novelty of his work; in 1655, he famously wrote that: “Natural philosophy is … but young; but Civil Philosophy yet much younger, as being no older … than my own book De Cive” (Hobbes 1839, vol I, ix). For sure, because of his approach and subject matter, Hobbes is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern political theory (Goldsmith 1966; Gauthier 1969). In the twentieth century, interpreters have endorsed or opposed the association of Hobbes with a variety of paradigms and orientations, including totalitarianism in politics, positivism in legal theory, utilitarianism in ethics, and realism in international relations.