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Originally published in 1889.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

image problems
This book is an edition created from U of Michigan microfilm with a random picture of a snowy mountain on the front which seems to have nothing to do with the book itself.Unfortunately, the image quality varies quite a bit from page to page.Many pages are copied so badly as to be almost illegible.Furthermore, for most of the book every fourth page seems to have a piece of transparent plastic over the top half of the page which distorts it.

A few image problems would have been forgivable, but the consistency and level of bluriness makes this quite a chore to read.The only thing this book really has going for it is that it is pretty cheap, nonetheless I would recommend finding a different edition.I am going to try the 1990 Chicago Univ Press edition, because I trust them to do a better job of quality control. ... Read more

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In this book, S. A. Lloyd offers a radically new interpretation of Hobbes's laws of nature, revealing them to be not egoistic precepts of personal prudence but rather moral instructions for obtaining the common good. This account of Hobbes's moral philosophy stands in contrast to both divine command and rational choice interpretations. Drawing from the core notion of reciprocity, Lloyd explains Hobbes's system of "cases in the law of nature" and situates Hobbes's moral philosophy in the broader context of his political philosophy and views on religion. Offering ingenious new arguments, Lloyd defends a reciprocity interpretation of the laws of nature through which humanity's common good is secured. ... Read more

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The First Modern Political Philosopher
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) wrote "Leviathan" in 1651, it was his most important philosophical work.I think you should know something of Hobbes to understand how his thinking was influenced by his experiences.He was born 2 months prematurely on the day the Spanish Armada approaches the English coast.His mother's fear of invasion caused the premature birth.Hobbes remarked late in life, "his mother brought forth twins-myself and fear."Fear seems to be Hobbes life long companion and the key passion in his political system, which uses human passions as its foundation.He was a child prodigy reading Latin and Greek at the age of six years old.At fifteen, he entered Oxford University and hated his educational experience there.He thought the curriculum was too immersed in the ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle.He called them "erroneous doctrines," and throughout his life he railed against English universities for there stodgy curriculum.

At the age of 22, he graduates and takes a job to tutor the son of the Earl of Devonshire.It gives him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe where he meets with Galileo in Florence and Descartes in Paris.Descartes calls Hobbes the greatest political philosopher of his day.During the British civil war, Hobbes flees to Paris because he is a well-known monarchist sympathizer.In 1651, he publishes his monumental work "Leviathan."He returns to England, submits to Cromwell's government, and withdraws from politics.He is on friendly terms with Charles II when the Stuart's are restored to the throne.

Hobbes philosophy is "materialistic"; he is greatly influenced by Galileo's mechanistic approach to science, and Euclidian geometry.His ambition was to explain all phenomena, man, and government with mathematical precision.In "Leviathan," he explains human conduct is a product of human passions.The most dominant passions are fear of violent death and desire for power, both are manifestations of man's most basic impulse, "self preservation."Hobbes asserts that the basic impulse is the right of the individual; he calls it a "natural right."All men process this natural right equally.This theory leads Hobbes to believe man's natural state to be one of constant conflict with each other.This leads him to write the following quote he is most known for: "men's lives are solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."So as not to have to live in constant state of fear or conflict, men make a contract for protection with the state.Hobbes believes that the best state is one led by a single sovereign whose power must be unrestricted with all three branches of government devolving to him.A single sovereign who has absolute power and cannot be replaced by the people.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influences other philosophers like Spinoza, Hutcheson, Locke, and Hume.Hobbes is the first man to write about political philosophy in such methodical terms.He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen.As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must start with reading Hobbes "Leviathan."
... Read more

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Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is now recognized as one of the fathers of modern philosophy and political theory. In his own time he was as famous for his work in physics, geometry, and religion. He associated with some of the greatest writers, scientists, and politicians of his age including Ben Jonson, Galileo and King Charles II. A. P. Martinich has written the most complete and accessible biography of Hobbes available. The book takes full account of the historical and cultural context in which Hobbes lived, drawing on both published and unpublished sources. It will be a great resource for philosophers, political theorists, and historians of ideas. The clear, crisp prose style will also ensure that the book appeals to general readers with an interest in the history of philosophy, the rise of modern science, and the English Civil War.A. P. Martinich is a Professor of Philosophy and the author or editor of nine books, including The Philosophy of Language (1996), Philosophical Writing (1997), and The Two Gods of Leviathan (Cambridge University Press, 1992). ... Read more

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THE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY OF HOBBES
A.P. Martinich is an analytic philosopher who has an emphasis on the history of political thought, and he is the author of this great biography.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher, most remembered today for his seminal work of political philosophy, Leviathan: With Selected Variants from the Latin Edition of 1668.Hobbes served as a secretary to Francis Bacon for some time, and Martinich notes, "Not even his friends liked Bacon."

Martinich observes that "Although he would sharpen the argumentation and improve the presentation in later works, Hobbes adhered for the rest of his life to the basic positions presented in his first political treatise." (The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic: To Which Are Subjoined Selected Extracts from Unprinted Mss. of Thomas Hobbes).Martinich later adds that "All or almost all of the central points of Leviathan had been made by Hobbes in early books and manuscripts."

Martinich's own comments are always pertinent: e.g., "His doctrine was Calvinism without original sin." "Hobbes never lost an adolescent delight of shocking the intellectual establishment."

Hobbes was the founder of biblical criticism, and "Hobbes was the first person to argue in print that Moses was not the author of most of the Pentateuch."About Hobbes' attempt to reconcile science and religion, Martinich notes, "He failed, but I do not know of anyone who has succeeded."

This is the finest study of Hobbes' life we are ever likely to see.

As Close to the Standard Edition As It Gets
One, if not the first, in a series of biographies of European philosophers by Cambridge University Press, this volume more than holds its own and is bound to becomne the standard text on the life of Thomas Hobbes.

Deftly written and extremely well researched, this is a volume not only for the scholar of English philosophy or history, but for the well-read layman as well. Martinich presents his subject chronologically, as any good biography should, with brief stopovers for analysis of each Hobbes text both philosophically and within the historical context against which it was written. Martinich is most unusual in that he does not take his own words as the last ones on the subject; there are pages on his disagreements with other writers on interpretations of both the life and thought of Hobbes, which makes this volume both unusual and valuable to any understanding of its subject.

Pricey, but strongly recommended, especially if one has any of the other volumes in the Cambridge series. If possible, wait for the paperback . . . but not too long, for there is much about Hobbes one will miss. ... Read more

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Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is one of the most important figures in the history of European thought. Although interest in his life and work has grown enormously in recent years, this is the first complete edition of his correspondence.The texts of the letters are richly supplemented with explanatory notes and full biographical and bibliographical information. This landmark publication sheds new light on the intellectual life of a major thinker. ... Read more

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This interpretation of the moral and political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes argues that he well understood the importance of moral behaviour to civilized society. Challenging currently fashionable game theoretic reconstructions of Hobbesian logic, the author contends that modern readers have misconstrued his view of the relationship between politics and morality. Among the implications of Ewin's reading are that Hobbes never thought that "the war of each against all" was an empirical possibility for citizens; that his political theory actually presupposes moral agency; and that his account of natural law forces us to the conclusion that Hobbes was a virtue theorist. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1787 edition by La Société typographique, Neufchatel. ... Read more

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Volume 23 of 54 ... Read more

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InLeviathan, Thomas Hobbes's landmark work on political philosophy, James Martel argues that although Hobbes pays lip service to the superior interpretive authority of the sovereign, he consistently subverts this authority throughout the book by returning it to the reader.

Martel demonstrates that Hobbes's radical method of reading not only undermines his own authority in the text, but, by extension, the authority of the sovereign as well. To make his point, Martel looks closely at Hobbes's understanding of religious and rhetorical representation. InLeviathan, idolatry is not just a matter of worshipping images but also a consequence of bad reading. Hobbes speaks of the "error of separated essences," in which a sign takes precedence over the idea or object it represents, and warns that when the sign is given such agency, it becomes a disembodied fantasy leading to a "kingdom of darkness."

To combat such idolatry, Hobbes offers a method of reading in which one resists the rhetorical manipulation of figures and tropes and recognizes the codes and structures of language for what they are-the only way to convey a fundamental inability to ever know "the thing itself." Making the leap to politics, Martel suggests that following Hobbes's argument, the sovereign can also be seen as idolatrous& mdash;a separated essence& mdash;a figure who supplants the people it purportedly represents, and that learning to be better readers enables us to challenge, if not defeat, the authority of the sovereign.

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Thomas Hobbes 'the infamous author of Leviathan' is remembered chiefly for his political philosophy but his contemporaries were more concerned with the moral and materialistic views which formed the basis of his doctrines. He was a notable literary figure of his time, and his powerful and lucid style had its effect on all manner of arguments with his opponents. With Hobbes rationalism came into its own. Mintz, in examining these seventeenth-century reactions to Hobbes, sets him against his intellectual background and so gives an added dimension to his thought. Mintz succeeds in capturing the ideological excitement of the seventeenth-century critics and in reawakening the crucial issues which were at stake. His study has much to offer historians, philosophers and theologians, and anyone with a general interest in the man or his period. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Capacity of Persuasion
I read these works for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.
Definition of Rhetoric- capacity of persuasion.Plato is critical of the Rhetoric and the tragic poetry.Rhetoric is approach to political public speeches in the forum.Plato thought that they clouded the mind and thus created a part of his critique of democracy in general.Plato thinks Socrates was killed by rhetoric used by the Athenian democracy.Plato feared the danger of democracy.Poetry appeals to the base human emotions rhetoric, and poetry block rational truth according to Plato.Rhetoric is psychological force of language vs. logical force of language.Psychology leads people to believe things based on emotions.Speech must appeal to the masses in a democracy.Psychology is persuasion, logic is truth.Deduction and induction is arguing logically.Plato says rhetoric is not a technç, (craft) nor is poetry, because they are undisciplined and not uniform in design.Thus, appeal to psychology and emotion can never be done away with in a democracy, thus Plato abhors them and democracy.Plato calls it sophistry this psychological appeal and democracy requires this to exist, so the problem persists.Plato is clear and consistent in his abhorrence of sophistry and democracy.

Aristotle's Rhetoric and Poetics are an alternative to Plato.Aristotle's rhetoric tries to strike a middle position.Aristotle says rhetoric and poetry are a technç, the Rhetoric is a handbook.Aristotle says speaker needs to appeal to appropriate information for the particular setting.Much like a lawyer's argument, not just relying on facts, need to appeal to people's emotions.Aristotle does understand that rhetoric can be used in a harmful way.

Aristotle lays out three features in rhetoric:
1. Ethos= character of the speaker, also charisma, speaker earns the audience's trust, use of body language.
2. Pathos= condition of the hearer.
3. Logos= essential bearing on political persuasion, truth.

Thus, Plato's concern by definition excludes speech because it deals with emotion.These three conditions must be in play for a speech to be successful.The rhetoric contains a detailed analysis of the different human emotions and how to elicit them in a speech.Aristotle knows the speaker must be a good student of human nature to tap into human emotions.

Epistçmç is scientific knowledge.Phronçsis is the capacity of the soul for using education, experience and habit all this is in the ethics.This is the same in political world so politics is not an episteme no scientific reasoning.The things that come up in politics are not deduced scientifically.In politics, humans use deliberation between several possible outcomes unlike math where there is only one correct answer.Political speech is contentious because the nature of politics is contentious.

There are two circumstances in rhetoric.
1. Judicial rhetoric has to do with the past like in a court case.
2. Deliberative rhetoric has to do with the future, what decision should we make in political policies.

I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy.Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.
... Read more

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"Reader's Guides" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to classic works of philosophy. Each book explores the major themes, historical and philosophical context and key passages of a major philosophical text, guiding the reader toward a thorough understanding of often demanding material. Ideal for undergraduate students, the guides provide an essential resource for anyone who needs to get to grips with a philosophical text. Thomas Hobbes is widely considered to have been ahead of his time and his huge contribution to political philosophy has only recently been fully recognised. His most enduring work, "Leviathan", is a key text in the study of political philosophy and a hugely important and exciting, yet challenging, piece of philosophical writing. In "Hobbes' 'Leviathan': A Reader's Guide", Laurie M. Johnson Bagby explains the philosophical background against which the book was written and the key themes inherent in the text. The book then guides the reader to a clear understanding of the text as a whole, before exploring the reception and influence of this classic philosophical work.This is the ideal companion to study of this most influential and challenging of texts. ... Read more

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Did Hobbes's political philosophy have practical intentions? There exists no _Hobbist_ school of thought; no new political order was inspired by Hobbesian precepts. Yet in Behemoth Teaches Leviathan Geoffrey M. Vaughan revisits Behemoth to reveal hitherto unexplored pedagogic purpose to Hobbes's political philosophy. ... Read more

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The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: State, The; Political science; Philosophy / General; Philosophy / History ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This book is thin
It seems a little dishonest to me for Norton not to reveal on the cover of this book that it is an abridged version.In fact, the only way to know that is to read the footnote in the Table of Contents, or the preface.

It happens that, in my view, the Leviathan can use the abridging, and it is very possibly that you think so too. But readers should be told that before they buy.So I am telling you.

I'm a bit disappointed with the secondary materials, too, but not quite disappointed enough to grouse about it too much.Still, it seems like the editors could have made up for all those lost pages in the main text to get more ambitious in the secondary materials.

I still give it four stars because I like the abridged version.

The First Modern Political Philosopher
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) wrote "Leviathan" in 1651, it was his most important philosophical work.I think you should know something of Hobbes to understand how his thinking was influenced by his experiences.He was born 2 months prematurely on the day the Spanish Armada approaches the English coast.His mother's fear of invasion caused the premature birth.Hobbes remarked late in life, "his mother brought forth twins-myself and fear."Fear seems to be Hobbes life long companion and the key passion in his political system, which uses human passions as its foundation.He was a child prodigy reading Latin and Greek at the age of six years old.At fifteen, he entered Oxford University and hated his educational experience there.He thought the curriculum was too immersed in the ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle.He called them "erroneous doctrines," and throughout his life he railed against English universities for there stodgy curriculum.

At the age of 22, he graduates and takes a job to tutor the son of the Earl of Devonshire.It gives him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe where he meets with Galileo in Florence and Descartes in Paris.Descartes calls Hobbes the greatest political philosopher of his day.During the British civil war, Hobbes flees to Paris because he is a well-known monarchist sympathizer.In 1651, he publishes his monumental work "Leviathan."He returns to England, submits to Cromwell's government, and withdraws from politics.He is on friendly terms with Charles II when the Stuart's are restored to the throne.

Hobbes philosophy is "materialistic"; he is greatly influenced by Galileo's mechanistic approach to science, and Euclidian geometry.His ambition was to explain all phenomena, man, and government with mathematical precision.In "Leviathan," he explains human conduct is a product of human passions.The most dominant passions are fear of violent death and desire for power, both are manifestations of man's most basic impulse, "self preservation."Hobbes asserts that the basic impulse is the right of the individual; he calls it a "natural right."All men process this natural right equally.This theory leads Hobbes to believe man's natural state to be one of constant conflict with each other.This leads him to write the following quote he is most known for: "men's lives are solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."So as not to have to live in constant state of fear or conflict, men make a contract for protection with the state.Hobbes believes that the best state is one led by a single sovereign whose power must be unrestricted with all three branches of government devolving to him.A single sovereign who has absolute power and cannot be replaced by the people.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influences other philosophers like Spinoza, Hutcheson, Locke, and Hume.Hobbes is the first man to write about political philosophy in such methodical terms.He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen.As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must start with reading Hobbes "Leviathan."

Abridged, yet worthwhile.
What you first need to know is that the word "Authoritative" used in this edition refers to the fact that it utilizes several different manuscript versions to capture what Hobbes meant to convey.However, what is not mentioned is that this is an abridged version of the text. Much of parts III & IV are omitted. Which is a bit disappointing.

I gave this 5 stars because Hobbes himself deserves 5 stars for his provocative ideas. If you're familiar & comfortable with Shakespeare's language, you won't be put off by the cavalier spelling & grammar rules of Hobbes' era.This is not to say that Hobbes writes in blank verse (haha), but that the language is a bit arcane & takes some acclimatization.

Footnotes were, for the most part good - in the body of the text, foreign phrases were translated for those woefully ignorant (like me) of Latin & ancient Greek. However, in the post-ceding criticisms, this very positive practice was discontinued. As in, whole footnotes in Latin & German were not translated. So, get your browsers set to Babelfish, baby.

The accompanying criticisms are a mixed bag - some worth reading, some, not so much. They help elucidate some points - which is great for a casual reader like myself.Others just serve to annoy.

Eitherway, if you're looking for a definitive edition of the Leviathan, don't look here because you will miss about 1/3 of the actual text which Hobbes wrote down. If you want to skip the parts about theology & much of that which was tied into the Christian Commonwealth, then this is your edition. ... Read more

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This volume in the Clarendon Edition of the Works of Thomas Hobbes contains A dialogue between a philosopher and a student, of the common laws of England, edited by Alan Cromartie, supplemented by the important fragment on the issue of regal succession, "Questions relative to Hereditary Right", discovered and edited by Quentin Skinner.

The former work is the last of Hobbes's major political writings. As a critique of common law by a great philosopher, it should be essential reading for anybody interested in English political thought or legal theory. Although it was written when Hobbes was at least eighty, it is a lively piece of work that goes beyond a recapitulation of earlier Hobbesian doctrines, not least in applying his central ideas to the details of the English constitution. This edition supplies the extensive annotation on matters of legal and historical detail that is required by non-specialist readers; it also assists students by offering cross-references to other treatises. Cromartie's introduction is an authoritative account of seventeenth-century thinking about the common law and of Hobbes's shifting attitudes towards it. It has often been suspected that the book was motivated by fear of being burned for heresy. Cromartie disentangles the complex evidence (scattered across a number of late works) that documents this fear's development, and shows why the philosopher's acute anxieties eventually led him to write a legal treatise. In clarifying these questions, the edition casts fresh light upon his attitude to law and sovereignty.
The second piece takes the form of a question put to Hobbes about the right of succession under hereditary monarchies, together with Hobbes's response. The question is in the handwriting of the fourth Earl of Devonshire, the son of the third Earl, whom Hobbes had tutored in the 1630s. He asks Hobbes whether an heir can be excluded if he is incapable of protecting his prospective subjects. The question of "exclusion" became the most burning issue in English politics in the course of 1679, when a bill to exclude the future James II was introduced into the House of Commons. Hobbes answers with a robust defence of hereditary right, in the course of which he also makes some important general observations about the concept of a right. The manuscript is also of special interest as it constitutes Hobbes's last word on politics. It was almost certainly written in the summer of 1679, less than six months before Hobbes's death. ... Read more

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Pre-eminent among European political philosophers, Norberto Bobbio has throughout his career turned to the political theory of Thomas Hobbes.Gathered here for the first time are the most important of his essays which together provide both a valuable introduction to Hobbes's thought and a fresh understanding of Hobbes's place in the theory of modern politics.

Tracing Hobbes's work through De Cive and Leviathan, Bobbio identifies the philosopher's relation to the tradition of natural law. That Hobbes must now be understood in both this tradition as well as in the seemingly contradictory positivist tradition becomes clear for the first time in Bobbio's account.Bobbio also demonstrates that Hobbes cannot be easily labelled "liberal" or "totalitarian"; in Bobbio's provocative analysis of Hobbes's justification of the state, Hobbes emerges as a true conservative.

Though his primary concern is to reconstruct the inner logic of Hobbes's thought, Bobbio is also attentive to the philosopher's biography and weaves into his analysis details of Hobbes's life and world--his exile in France, his relation with the Mersenne circle, his disputes with Anglican bishops, and accusations of heresy leveled against him.The result is a revealing, thoroughly new portrait of the first theorist of the modern state. ... Read more