Leviathan
Leviathan
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Summary
Written by Thomas Hobbes and first published in 1651, "Leviathan" is widely considered the greatest work of political philosophy ever composed in the English language. This edition, which uses modern text and relies on large-sheet copies from the 1651 Head version, includes interpretive essays by four leading Hobbes scholars.
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Leviathan by Ian Shapiro
Thomas 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.
"One of the greatest works of political theory ever written. . . An ingenious account of the modern state and its intellectual foundations. . . . [Editor Ian] Shapiro has done well here and found some shrewd commentators."—Jeffrey Collins, The Wall Street Journal
* The Wall Street Journal *
* The Wall Street Journal *
Ian Shapiro is Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University and Henry R. Luce Director of the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. His many books include Democratic Justice and The Moral Foundations of Politics, both published by Yale University Press.
SKU | Unavailable |
ISBN 13 | 9780300118384 |
ISBN 10 | 0300118384 |
Title | Leviathan |
Author | Ian Shapiro |
Series | Rethinking The Western Tradition |
Condition | Unavailable |
Binding Type | Paperback |
Publisher | Yale University Press |
Year published | 2010-07-27 |
Number of pages | 608 |
Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
Note | Unavailable |