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Economics: Cult or Science? Mind Reading. Poetry As a Way of Knowing. Epicurus and the Good Life. On Being Normal. Hobbes, in his political writing, is generally understood to be arguing for absolutism.
I argue that despite apparently supporting absolutism, Hobbes, in Leviathan , also undermines that absolutism in at least two and possibly three ways. Second and crucially, he argues that subjects have inalienable rights, rights that are held even against the sovereign. Third, there is also a possible limitation on the absolute power of the sovereign in the form of restrictions Hobbes puts in place on what laws he may legitimately make.
Finally, Hobbesian absolutism is compared to the absolutism of Carl Schmitt. This exercise demonstrates the limitations that Hobbes places on the power and authority of the sovereign. Reference Works. Primary source collections. Open Access Content. Contact us. Sales contacts. Publishing contacts.
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Your current browser may not support copying via this button. Goldsmith, M. Hampton, J. Herbert, G. Hoekstra, K. Hood, E. Johnston, D. Kapust, Daniel J. Kavka, G. Kramer, M. Krom, M. LeBuffe, M. Coleman and C. Morris eds. Macpherson, C. Macpherson ed. Malcolm, N. Martel, J. May, L. McClure, C. Moehler, M. Moloney, P. Murphy, M. Nagel, T. Oakeshott, M. Olsthoorn, J. Peacock, M. Petit, P. Raphael, D. Ryan, A. Mendus, ed. Shelton, G. Schneewind, J. Schwitzgebel, E. Skinner, Q. Slomp, G. Sommerville, J.
Springborg, P. Sreedhar, S. Strauss, L. Sussmann, N. Tralau, J. Tuck, R. In other words, individuals in the state of nature are not constrained by moral or legal obligations as neither could exist prior to the establishment of a commonwealth. Human liberty, for Hobbes, is simply the freedom of bodily action and is not limited by any moral or legal notions. A person is free, in other words, when not physically confined or imprisoned. Because the state of nature is a state of continuous and comprehensive war, Hobbes claims it is necessary and rational for individuals to seek peace to satisfy their desires, including the natural desire for self-preservation.
Definitions are provided and a series of conclusions are drawn in rapid fashion; there is a deep logical consistency to its prudential outcomes. Hobbes begins by defining laws of nature as rational precepts that lead individuals toward a state of peace. In the first part, it encourages a state of peace by instructing individuals to satisfy their desire for self-preservation. Yet, because peaceful coexistence requires reciprocity, if only one party seeks peace, it is unlikely it will be established.
Humans, as we have seen, have a natural right to determine what is necessary for their own individual survival. The existence of this natural right often promotes a state of war, so peace requires that individuals renounce or transfer this right in part or in whole.
From the first law of nature, then, Hobbes derives a second law according to which individuals must lay down their natural rights universally and concurrently in order to obtain peace. A natural right is relinquished either by transferring a right to a specific recipient or by renouncing the right entirely. In order to escape the war of all against all, Hobbes claims, a common power must be established by a mutual transference of right to protect the individuals not only from foreign invaders, but also from each other.
Thus, a person cannot give up the natural right to self-preservation or to the means of self-preservation. According to the second law of nature, then, we must transfer those rights whose exercise contributes to civil conflict. This leads to the third law of nature stating that individuals must abide by any covenants consented to freely.
For a common power to perform the task for which it is erected, it is necessary that individuals follow through on their mutual agreements.
In Leviathan , Hobbes deduces sixteen more laws of nature, all of which aim at maintaining the state of peace established by the erection of a common power. These laws provide a code of moral behavior by prohibiting socially destructive behavior or attitudes, such as drunkenness or ingratitude. The political consequence of the laws of nature is the institution of a political body that makes possible a state of peace.
Hobbes claims the sovereign power may reside in one person or an assembly, so that a singular type of government is not required to maintain the peace. It is necessary, however, for the sovereign power to possess certain rights to fulfill the task for which it was established.
In a manner similar to the deduction of the laws of nature, Hobbes derives the rights and powers of sovereignty. In this derivation, Hobbes deduces those rights that are necessary for maintaining peace. To give one example, the sovereign power has the right not to be dissolved by its subjects Hobbes derives eleven other rights; if any of the rights are granted away, Hobbes asserts, the commonwealth will revert to a state of war. The rights, briefly put, entail a defense of political absolutism.
In the state of nature, as we have seen, individuals possess the natural right to determine what is good for themselves, i. As long as individuals make such determinations, Hobbes believes, there will be a state of war. If everyone accepts his political conclusions, Hobbes claims, then disagreement over political and religious matters would come to an end and peace would be firmly established in a commonwealth.
References to Leviathan L are taken from Leviathan , ed. Macpherson, Harmondsworth: Penguin Publishers, Stephen Finn Email: stephen. Philosophical Method: Resolution and Composition Hobbes, like many of his contemporaries, stresses the importance of having a proper philosophical method for attaining knowledge.
Scientific Demonstration It was important for Hobbes not only to acquire knowledge for himself, but also to demonstrate his conclusions to others. Geometry and Physics After presenting his ideas on philosophical method in the first part of De Corpore , Hobbes applies this method to both the abstract world of geometry and to the real and existing world of physical objects.
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