Hobbes Today: Insights for the 21st Century

by S. A. Lloyd (Editor)

Overview

Hobbes Today: Insights for the 21st Century brings together an impressive group of political philosophers, legal theorists, and political scientists to investigate the many ways in which the work of Thomas Hobbes, the famed seventeenth century English philosopher, can illuminate the political and social problems we face today. Its essays demonstrate the contemporary relevance of Hobbes's political thought on such issues as justice, human rights, public reason, international warfare, punishment, fiscal policy, and the design of positive law, among others. The volume's contributors include both Hobbes specialists and philosophers bringing their expertise to consideration of Hobbes's texts for the first time. This volume will stimulate renewed interest in Hobbes studies among a new generation of thinkers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107000599
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/17/2012
Pages:	353
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

S. A. Lloyd is Professor of Philosophy, Law, and Political Science at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Morality in the Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, Cases in the Law of Nature (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and Ideals as Interests in Hobbes's Leviathan (Cambridge University Press, 1992).

Table of Contents

Editor's introduction S. A. Lloyd; Part I. Application to Problems of Governmental Powers and their Limits: 1. Supporting a normative order through Hobbesian reasoning Joshua Cohen; 2. A note on Hobbesian lessons on bipartisanship David Braybrooke; 3. Hobbes' theory of rights: a new application Eleanor Curran; 4. Hobbesian legal reasoning and the problem of wicked laws Claire Finkelstein; 5. Hobbesian equality Kinch Hoekstra; 6. The representation of Hobbesian sovereignty: Leviathan as mythology Arash Abizadeh; Part II. Application to Civil Society and Domestic Institutions: 7. On public and private conscience: public reason and religious convictions in Leviathan G. F. Gaus; 8. 'Thrown amongst many': Hobbes on taxation and fiscal policy Neil McArthur; 9. The imperfect legitimacy of punishment Alice Ristroph; 10. In harm's way: Hobbes on the duty to fight for one's country Susanne Sreedhar; 11. Confronting jihad: a defect in the Hobbesian educational strategy Maryam Qudrat; Part III. Application to Problems of Global Scope: 12. Hobbesian realism in international relations: a reappraisal Chris Naticchia; 12. Hobbesian assurance problems and global justice Aaron James; 13. International relations, world government, and the ethics of war: a Hobbesian perspective S. A. Lloyd; 14. Hobbesian defenses of orthodox just war theory Jeff McMahan; 15. Hobbes and human rights Michael Green.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The thought-provoking articles in Hobbes Today illustrate one of the reasons the history of philosophy is valuable. The book contains great philosophy. The distinguished contributors relate elements of Hobbes’s views, sometimes via novel interpretations, to such pressing, political problems as rights, punishment, and even taxation.”
– Al Martinich, University of Texas at Austin

“An excellent collection of papers by established thinkers and young scholars on the value of Hobbes’s political thought for our world. Both students of Hobbes and contemporary political philosophers will find much of value in these essays.”
– Christopher Morris, University of Maryland

“In this fine volume, the eminent Hobbes scholar S. A. Lloyd brings together an impressive set of essays that test received interpretations of Hobbes’s work and that bring his thought to bear on some of the most pressing questions in contemporary political philosophy. The originality and ingenuity of the pieces collected here amply demonstrate the enduring greatness and perennial fruitfulness of Hobbes’s thought. Anyone interested in Thomas Hobbes can read these essays with considerable profit, and the book will prove an essential supplement to courses on Hobbes’s political theory.”
– Paul Weithman, University of Notre Dame

Editorial Reviews

The thought-provoking articles in Hobbes Today illustrate one of the reasons the history of philosophy is valuable. The book contains great philosophy. The distinguished contributors relate elements of Hobbes’s views, sometimes via novel interpretations, to such pressing, political problems as rights, punishment, and even taxation.”
– Al Martinich, University of Texas at Austin


“An excellent collection of papers by established thinkers and young scholars on the value of Hobbes’s political thought for our world. Both students of Hobbes and contemporary political philosophers will find much of value in these essays.”
– Christopher Morris, University of Maryland


“In this fine volume, the eminent Hobbes scholar S. A. Lloyd brings together an impressive set of essays that test received interpretations of Hobbes’s work and that bring his thought to bear on some of the most pressing questions in contemporary political philosophy. The originality and ingenuity of the pieces collected here amply demonstrate the enduring greatness and perennial fruitfulness of Hobbes’s thought. Anyone interested in Thomas Hobbes can read these essays with considerable profit, and the book will prove an essential supplement to courses on Hobbes’s political theory.”
– Paul Weithman, University of Notre Dame


"...In this volume, readers will find a Hobbes who had things to say about rights and equality, taxation, punishment, just war, and whether one has a right to fight for one's country. In other words, these essays, which are of a uniformly high caliber, seek to apply Hobbes's thought to contemporary issues.... This is an excellent anthology.... Highly recommended..."
–C.R. McCall, Elmira College, CHOICE

From the Publisher