Description
Book SynopsisLeon Harold Craig weaves together philosophy, political science, and literature to offer a radical re-interpretation of Hobbes's most famous work.
Trade Review'The author of substantial and thought-provoking studies of Plato's Republic and Shakespeare's political dramas, Craig's latest effort interprets Leviathan as an exercise in Platonic political philosophy ... Craig's book both summons scholars to return to the permanent questions about the right way of life and challenges them to match their readings of Hobbes and Plato against his own. Intrepid readers (and Craig, who associates philosophy with "the warrior spirit," seeks no others) will benefit from the dialectical experience that The Platonian Leviathan makes possible.' -- Daniel Cullen The Review of Politics '... Craig offers the reader of his book a course in how to interpret a great classic of political philosophy with a view to our concerns in the twenty-first century ... Craig's book offers a very comprehensive interpretation of Hobbes's Leviathan ... It is difficult, or, to put it more correctly, impossible to do justice to this book packed with thoughts and intelligent suggestions ... [E]ven in mentally developing counter-arguments or amplifications of Craig's interpretations, they will do what is most necessary in order to come to grips with the dilemmas of modernity, especially as they relate to the theologico-political problem ... It is a bold attempt at making sense of Hobbes for our world ... Recommended for collections of philosophy, political science, and literature - and especially those readers who try to combine interests in all three of these research fields.' -- Michael T. Rogers Political Science Review 'Leon Craig's The Platonian Leviathan is always thoughtful and refreshing in what it says about Hobbes, metaphysical issues, and the works of Melville and Conrad. Its subtle and learned arguments are worth pondering; there is much to learn from Craig about the matters he discusses.' -- Mark Blitz Claremont Review of Books 'This book is a treasure of close reading and every student of Hobbes should confront it.' -- Geoffrey M. Vaughan Review of Metaphysics 'This is a book not to be missed by anyone who is interested in the political thought of Thomas Hobbes.' -- Laurie M. Johnson Canadian Political Science Review vol 45:04:2012
Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments xi Prelude xiii A Melvillian Overture: Moby-Dick and Philosophy 3 Part One: The problematical Leviathan: KAPPAalphakappaomicronphiomicronupsiloniotaalpha 25 1: Curiosity about Causes and the Problem of Religion 29 2: Reality and the Problem of Materialism 51 3: The Aristotelian Analysis of Cause 63 4: The Human Psyche and the Problem of Chance71 5: The Causes of a Commonwealth 79 6: Nature and the Problem of Teleology 84 7: The Essentials of Baconian Science 95 8: The Baconian Character of Hobbes' Political Project 106 9: Philosophy and the Problem of Determinism 114 10: Reason and the Problem of Revelation 133 11: Rationality and the Problem of Reason 145 12: Science and the Problem of Language 169 13: Honour and the Problem of Natural Law 198 14: Nobility and the Problem of Hedonism 220 15: Justice and the Problem of Regimes 246 16: Equity and the Problem of Egoism 267 A Conradian Intermezzo: Variations on the State of Nature 295 Part Two: The Paltonic Leviathan: cALPHArhomuomicronupsiloniotaalpha 327 17: The Crucial Paragraph: Platonic Intimations 329 18: The Heartless Introduction: Hobbes's Disposable Physiology 355 19: The Original State of Nature: Hobbes's Paleo-anthropology 369 20: The Ever-Present State of Nature: Greeks versus Barbarians 389 21: The Nature of Men: Equality as a Useful Lie 418 22: The Place of Philosophy: The Kingship of Hobbes 445 23: A Colossus of Irony: The Latent Platonism of Leviathan 479 A Melvillian Coda: Moby-Dick as Fourfold Allegory 499 Postlude 525 Notes 541 Bibliography 675 Index of Names 685
