Description
Book SynopsisThomas Hobbes's Leviathan is the greatest work of political philosophy in English and the first great work of philosophy in English. In addition, it presents the fundamentals of his beliefs about language, epistemology, and an extensive treatment of revealed religion and its relation to politics.
Beginning with premises that were sometimes controversial, such as that every human action is caused by the agent's desire for his own good, Hobbes derived shocking conclusions, such as that the civil government enjoys absolute control over its citizens and that the sovereign has the right to determine which religion is to be practiced in a commonwealth. Hobbes's contemporaries recognized the power of the arguments in Leviathan and many of them wrote responses to it. Selections from books by John Bramhall, Robert Filmer, Edward Hyde, George Lawson, William Lucy, Samuel Pufendorf and Thomas Tenison are included in this edition.
Leviathan is divided into four parts: In the first part, Of Man, Hobbes presents a view of human beings and of the natural world in general that is materialistic and mechanistic. In the second part, Of Commonwealth, he defends the theory of absolute sovereignty, the view that the government has all the political power and has the right to control any aspect of life. In the third part, Of a Christian Commonwealth, he critiques concepts like revelation, prophets, and miracles in such a way that it becomes doubtful whether they can be rationally justified. In the fourth part, Of the Kingdom of Darkness, he explains various ways in which priestly religion has corrupted religion and transgressed the rights of the sovereign.
In this revised edition of Hobbes's classic work, A.P. Martinich improves Hobbes's punctuation for the sake of clarity. He has also added new notes for readers, extensive cross references, and substantial part of Hobbes's reply to Bramhall's The Catching of Leviathan.
Trade ReviewInternationally renowned Hobbes scholar A.P. Martinich has produced the definitive version of Leviathan for student use. Handsomely turned out by Broadview Press, this edition features a highly informative introduction, a brief chronology of Hobbes's life, as well as some useful notes on the text itself. Of special value are seven appendices drawn from the writings of contemporary critics of Hobbes's thought, including Filmer, Lawson, Bramhall, Hyde and others. Martinich has made a difficult but essential text as accessible to students as it is likely ever to become." - George Wright, University of Wisconsin
"An admirably accessible edition of Hobbes's masterpiece. The work is presented clearly, in its entirety, and with generous excerpts from Hobbes's formidable contemporary critics." - Kinch Hoekstra, Balliol College, Oxford University
"This very readable edition of Hobbes's Leviathan is an excellent resource for students of political philosophy and its history. The collection of published responses to Leviathan by some of Hobbes's most prominent contemporaries provides insight into the historical context in which he was writing, and philosophically challenging commentary on this great work of political philosophy." - Thomas Christiano, University of Arizona
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Thomas Hobbes: A Brief Chronology
- A Note on the Text
- Abbreviations
- Leviathan
- Appendix A: From Robert Filmer, Observations Concerning the Original of Government, Upon Mr Hobbes’s “Leviathan,” Mr Milton Against Salmasius, H. Grotius “De Jure Belli” (1652)
- Appendix B: From George Lawson, An Examination of the Political Part of Mr. Hobbs His Leviathan (1657)
- Appendix C: From John Bramhall, The Catching of Leviathan, or the Great Whale (1658)
- Appendix D: From William Lucy, Observations, Censures and Confutations of Notorious Errours in Mr. Hobbes His Leviathan (1663)
- Appendix E: From Thomas Tenison, The Creed of Mr. Hobbes Examined; in a Feigned Conference between Him and a Studentin Divinity (1670)
- Appendix F: From Samuel Pufendorf, Of the Law of Nature and of Nations, in Eight Books (1672)
- Appendix G: From Edward Hyde, A Brief View and Survey of the Dangerous and Pernicious Errors to Church and State in Mr Hobbes’s Book Entitled Leviathan (1676)
- Appendix H: From Thomas Hobbes, An Answer to a Book Published by Dr. Bramhall, late Bishop of Derry; called The Catching of the Leviathan (1682)
- Select Bibliography
- Index
