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Title: Leviathan (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Hobbes, T. Hobbs, C. B. MacPherson ISBN: 0-14-043195-0 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: June, 1982 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (21 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Hobbes was the Maciavelli of his time
Comment: When this book was first published in England, it is said, it was being burned in the streets. What inflamed peoples passion so, in this seventeenth century book? It was governement and religion, of course. Hobbes, who was a private tutor for a wealthy family for most of his career (until he fled the country, that is), picks apart both the why-to of government and its use of manipulations, and the nature of humanity and the mechanisms, he proponents, whereby it operates. And that is just the first hundred pages in this volume.
It seems Hobbes intent was to refute the conscience, and instead say that everything was an opinion of the person wishing to act ever which way. This would be false however, because Hobbes himself is an exception to his rule for he has set himself up in the role of The Great Observer, or God.
In any which way, it was an interesting read and I recommend it for those who are looking for Order within the chaos.
I also recommmend in relation to this book is Joseph Butler's book Five Sermons, edited by Stephen Darwall, which stands as a refutation of some of Hobbes ideas and was written in the very ealry 1700s.
Rating: 5
Summary: An essential piece
Comment: Hobbes Leviathan is an essential read. Firstly I admire Thomas Hobbes for his bravery during the 17th century when this book was written and secondly for his grim view of humanity. Atheism during the height of the Catholic Church was strictly taboo and he had to write this piece very cleverly. Leviathan is a must for those whom are interested in the philosophical ideology of who we are and what makes us strive for things that we do and generally what makes us as men tick.
This book is complex. The common "run-on" sentences used in philosophy and the Old English style makes the book difficult to understand at times. It almost seems to be pure thought with no organization which has been jotted down in 728 pages.
In all, I like to call Hobbes Leviathan the "Atheists Bible" (though perhaps Hobbes would not like this type of name for one of his works) and I truly believe that this work is just as essential and important to philosophy as Plato.
Rating: 3
Summary: Nasty, brutish, and LONG...
Comment: OK, first off, skip the ENTIRE BEGINNING SECTION of this book - it is perfectly pointless today. In it, Hobbes is basically trying to do away with the concept of an immortal soul, thereby creating an atheistic society that cares nothing for religious matters. Hobbes is NOT known for his Philosophy of Mind.
What everyone remembers about Leviathan is Hobbes' terse, cynical, and on-the-money observation that life is "nasty, brutish, and short." Of course, what he means by this is life in the State of Nature. In order to try to make life a little better, man comes together to form societies.
So far, so good. What most people take exception to is the kind of Social Contract that Hobbes endorses. Hobbes says that a society should come together to form a Social Contract in which everyone is OBEY THE SOVEREIGN UNCONDITIONALLY NO MATTER WHAT. Here's the kicker, the sovereign or king himself exists OUTSIDE OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT AND IS NOT BOUND BY IT. In other words, the sovereign can do whatever he likes and the people must obey his commands no matter how cruel or ridiculous.
Now, Hobbes was really trying to be more reasonable than he sounds. He lived at a time when England had spent years torn apart by constant war. He was also a self-professed coward: "Fear and I were born twins." Basically, what he wanted was an end to war at all costs. For him, that meant obeying a STRONG RULER - in his case, Oliver Cromwell. The second section is addressed to the people trying to make them understand why this is in their best interests.
The last section is addressed to the sovereign himself. Yes, he says, you can be a tyrant and do anything you want, BUT that will only cause you more trouble than it's worth. I have some advice for you to follow. Hobbes then goes on to RECOMMEND ways in which the sovereign could be a good ruler.
In the end, Hobbes thought he was being an eminently practical man. To him, the "natural rights theorists" would just be talking nonsense.
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Title: The Social Contract (Penguin Classics) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Maurice Cranston ISBN: 0140442014 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: June, 1968 List Price(USD): $9.00 |
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Title: The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli ISBN: 0553212788 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 August, 1984 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: Locke: Two Treatises of Government Student edition by John Locke, Peter Laslett ISBN: 0521357306 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 28 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: The Politics by Aristotle, T.A. Sinclair, Trevor J. Saunders ISBN: 0140444211 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: June, 1992 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Republic by Plato ISBN: 0486411214 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 18 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $2.50 |
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