Thomas Hobbes' Views on the Notion of Power in "Leviathan" and their Manifestations in Human Settlements in Vietnam

Abstract

The concepts of state and power in Leviathan were formed under the influence of the English revolution and civil war. Thomas Hobbs, the philosopher of materialism articulated the ideas as they apply to socio-political aspects of human existence. In fact, they manifest in human settlements, both in everyday life and in every situation in which power and politics play a role. Needless to say, the production and habitation of human settlements involve the application and articulation of power through material expressions. This paper uses a comprehensive method and specific history of dialectical materialism to clarify social contract theory to better understand Hobbes’ views on the subject of power. At the same time, It uses analysis, and comparison methods to see Hobbes’ views of the subject of power and responsibility of the ultimate manifestation of power in persons: the autocrat. From there, the paper explores Hobbes's suggestions about the nature of power and the responsibility of the government as inherited and applied to politics of human settlements as manifesting in Vietnam today. In conclusion, the paper points out the values and limitations of Hobbes' view on the subject of power and its manifestations in human settlements particularly in architecture and buildings: through domestic space.