Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Hobbes and Leviathan (Routledge Philosophy Guidebooks)

232 Pages·2002·1.31 MB·English

by  Glen Newey

Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to
Leviathan
Hobbes and
Hobbes is one of the most important figures in the history of ideas and political thought
and his book Leviathan is widely recognised as one of the greatest works of political
philosophy.
In this new book Glen Newey offers a balanced guide to this key text that explores
both its historical and philosophical aspects. The author introduces:
• the relevance of Hobbes’s ideas to modern political thought
• the major interpretations of Leviathan
• Hobbes’s life and the background of the Leviathan
The Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Hobbes and Leviathan is the ideal introduction
for students who wish to understand more about this important philosopher and this
classic work of philosophy.
Glen Newey is Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of
Keele.
ROUTLEDGE PHILOSOPHY
GUIDEBOOKS
Edited by Tim Crane and Jonathan Wolff,
University College London
Plato and the Trial of Socrates Thomas C.Brickhouse and Nicholas D.Smith
Aristotle and the Metaphysics Vasilis Politis
Rousseau and The Social Contract Christopher Bertram
Plato and the Republic, Second Edition Nickolas Pappas
Husserl and the Cartesian Meditations A.D.Smith
Kierkegaard and Fear and Trembling John Lippitt
Descartes and the Meditations Gary Hatfield
Hegel and the Philosophy of Right Dudley Knowles
Nietzsche on Morality Brian Leiter
Hegel and the Phenomenology of Spirit Robert Stern
Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge Robert Fogelin
Aristotle on Ethics Gerard Hughes
Hume on Religion David O’Connor
Leibniz and the Monadology Anthony Savile
The Later Heidegger George Pattison
Hegel on History Joseph McCarney
Hume on Morality James Baillie
Hume on Knowledge Harold Noonan
Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason Sebastian Gardner
Mill on Liberty Jonathan Riley
Mill on Utilitarianism Roger Crisp
Wittgenstein and the Philosophical Investigations Marie McGinn
Spinoza and the Ethics Genevieve Lloyd
Heidegger and Being and Time, Second Edition Stephen Mulhall
Locke on Government D.A.Lloyd Thomas
Locke on Human Understanding E.J.Lowe
Derrida on Deconstruction Barry Stocker
Kant on Judgment Robert Wicks
Nietzsche on Art Aaron Ridley
Rorty and the Mirror of Nature James Tartaglia
Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to
Hobbes and Leviathan
Newey
Glen
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2008
by Routledge
2 Milton Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 2008 Glen Newey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-46481-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN13 978-0-415-22434-5 (hbk)
ISBN13 978-0-415-22435-2 (pbk)
ISBN13 978-0-203-46481-6 (ebk)
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
Introduction 1
1 Hobbes’s life 8
2 Leviathan: the book 23
3 Human knowledge, reason and ignorance 33
4 The state of nature: law and right 50
5 State of nature to commonwealth 69
6 Contract and consent 87
7 Sovereignty, state, commonwealth 106
8 Law, crime, punishment 125
9 Religious liberty and toleration 142
10 Leviathan and international relations 160
Conclusion 176
NOTES 180
BIBLIOGRAPHY 187
INDEX 198
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writing of this book has taken an unconscionable time—far longer, embarrassingly
enough, than the composition of Leviathan itself—and I have incurred a number of debts.
My overriding debt is to Linda Holt. She read the entire manuscript several times, an
act far above and beyond the call of marital duty. Her sharp critical eye spotted mistakes
which had escaped me, and her constant prodding to be clearer, while not always
welcomed at the time, has invariably proven justified on closer reading. There can be
very few academic writers who have the daily benefit of advice from someone with such
acute critical intelligence and so strong an ability to empathise with the intellectual
content of an academic book such as this. More importantly her companionship and
engagement have provided constant support in the process of writing it. Her influence is
present on every page.
Several other people also read the book in draft and made valuable suggestions.
My former doctoral supervisor and now colleague, John Horton, corrected a number of
infelicities and encouraged me to clarify a number of passages which were unclear in the
manuscript. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank him for many professional
and personal acts of kindness over a period now of over twenty years.
A beneficial consequence of my arrival at Keele has been access to the vast erudition
of John Rogers, whose landmark scholarly edition of Leviathan appeared while this book
was being written. His blend of philosophical acumen and expert knowledge of Hobbes
has been an extremely valuable resource during the latter stages of writing this book.
My series editor, Jonathan Wolff, also read the whole manuscript more than once.
He has been a model editor, dispensing encouragement and advice in equal measure.
His interventions have helped to make this a far better GuideBook than it would
otherwise have been.
I am also indebted to the lengthy list of editors at Routledge who have been involved
with the project. All have shown forbearance in the face of my near-pathological inability
to complete the book. I am particularly grateful to Priyanka Pathak for balancing the
scholarly and commercial constraints with which any project of this kind has to contend.
I am also indebted to suggestions made by an anonymous reader for Routledge.
I am also very grateful to the Human Values Center at Princeton University The
Center provided unmatched research facilities during a very enjoyable year I spent as a
Laurance S.Rockefeller fellow there, where the first draft was written. I would
particularly like to record my gratitude to George Kateb, now retired from the Center, and
to Stephen Macedo.
The arrival of Attila Newey during the writing of the book, and his increasingly
animated interactions with his sister Laura, have provided a vivid domestic illustration of
the state of nature. As time has worn on, he has learned how to switch off my computer
with a single well-aimed jab of his forefinger, thereby saving me from numerous errors.
Like everybody else mentioned above, he is not to be held responsible for any errors
which remain.