Thomas Hobbes

by R.E.R. Bunce

Overview

In this volume, Dr Bunce (University of Cambridge) introduces Hobbes' ambitious philosophical project to discover the principles that govern the social world. If Hobbes' immodest assessment that he successfully attained this goal may be disputed, Bunce nevertheless captures the extraordinary enduring value of Hobbes' work for the contemporary reader. Thomas Hobbes's name and the title of his most famous work, Leviathan, have come to be synonymous with the idea that the natural state of humankind is 'nasty, brutish, and short' and only the intervention of a munificent overlord may spare men and women from this unenviable fate by imposing order where there would otherwise be chaos. The problem that Hobbes formulated resonates through the centuries as the enduring dilemma of political organisation and social cooperation. Indeed it can be seen today in fields as diverse as theoretical game theory and international relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441101167
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/17/2013
Series:	Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Dr Bunce completed a PhD on Hobbes' thought and teaches at the University of Cambridge, UK

Table of Contents

Series IntroductionSeries Editor's Preface Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Hobbes's Life
Early Life
Employment as a Humanist
Hobbes and the New Science
Philosopher in Exile
Return to England
Last Years
Conclusion: life and philosophy
Chapter 2. Hobbes's Civil Philosophy
Introduction
The nature of Hobbes's political thought
Hobbes's Works
Human Nature: Reason, Knowledge, Imagination, and Passion
Man, Born Unfit for Society
The Condition of Mere Nature
The Laws of Nature
Persons, Authors, Representation, and the State
The Creation of the State Through Mutual Covenants
Types of Sovereignty
The Rights and Duties of the Sovereign
Liberty Under the Sovereign
The Life of the Commonwealth
The Fool
The Death of the Commonwealth
Conclusion: The Science of Natural Justice

Chapter 3. Reception and Interpretation
Introduction
Hobbism and Atheism
Hobbes's Disciples
Human Nature and the State of Nature
Social Contract and the State
Obligation and Law
Hobbes as a Theorist of Bourgeois Society
Hobbes and the Prisoner's Dilemma
Hobbes the Sceptic
Hobbes and Rhetoric
Conclusion: Understanding Hobbes

Chapter 4. Hobbes Today
New Leviathan and Totalitarianism
Back to Nature
Hobbes and Contemporary Conservatism
Liberal Before Liberalism
Conclusion

Suggested Further Reading
Hobbes's Life
Hobbes's Works
Natural Philosophy, Mathematics, and Language
Theology
Ethics and Political Thought
Reception

BibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"The volumes in this timely series comprise the most comprehensive body of material on conservative and libertarian thought yet published in a single project devoted to the subject. The series will prove an indispensable tool not only for those concerned with the history of political thought but also for those who confront the challenging task of constructing a viable contemporary conservative identity. Professor Meadowcroft had a difficult editorial task, to which he has responded with a judicious choice of thinkers and topics." --Noel O'Sullivan, Professor of Political Philosophy, the University of Hull, UK.

As the inaugural volume in a new series from John Meadowcraft, "Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers, Bunce's Thomas Hobbes sets a high standard for future volumes. Bunce (Univ. of Cambridge) has provided a text useful for undergraduates, graduates, and faculty alike. The book includes a brief yet informative biographical sketch, an account of the development of Hobbes's civil philosophy, and a particularly valuable discussion of how Hobbes's thought was received in his own day, as well as the various avenues of interpretation subsequently developed. The discussion of Hobbes's reception and interpretation is particularly useful to students as it addresses the critiques of Hobbes made by Pufendorf, Locke, and Rousseau. The account of contemporary views of Hobbes discusses his place in the thought of important recent theorists such as Michael Oakeshott, Leo Strauss, and Francis Fukuyama as well as his continued relevance to contemporary political subjects. Bunce's volume has the particular virtue of paying due attention to Hobbes's physics as well as his politics, clarifying the frequently neglected link between his physics and his moral and political teachings. Summing Up: Recommended. All undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. -- M. Harding, University of Dallas-CHOICE, Editor's Pick

From the Publisher