Thomas Hobbes, the greatest English political philosopher, argued
that human beings needed government in order to save their lives
from being "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." They form
governments by making a contract with each other to support a
sovereign, to whom they give their right of governing themselves.
In other words, government is artificial and not natural to human
beings. Hobbes's arguments are formidable, but often unacceptable.
For example, few people believe Hobbes's claim that the authority
of their government is unlimited. Government needs to be limited in
some way, such as a system of check and balances, to prevent
tyranny. Identifying exactly where Hobbes went wrong is difficult,
but also illuminates the truth about government. Hobbes's Political
Philosophy: Interpretation and Interpretations aims to clarify
Hobbes's positions by examining what Hobbes considered a science of
politics, a set of timeless truths grounded in definitions. A.P.
Martinich explains this science of politics, examining Hobbes's
views on the laws of nature, authorization and representation,
sovereignty by acquisition, and others. He argues that in addition
to the timeless science, Hobbes had two timebound projects. The
first was to eliminate the apparent conflict between the new
science of Copernicus and Galileo and traditional Christian
doctrine by distinguishing science from religion and understanding
Christianity as essentially belief in the literal meaning of the
Bible. The second was to show that Christianity is not politically
destabilizing by appealing to biblical teachings such as "Servants,
obey your masters," and "All authority comes from God." In
examining Hobbes's views on political philosophy, Martinich gives a
comprehensive overview of Hobbes's historical context and puts his
arguments in dialogue with other interpretations of Hobbes's
philosophy, drawing on the work of scholars such as Jeffrey
Collins, Edwin Curley, John Deigh, and Quentin Skinner. This new
interpretation of Hobbes's work will be of interest to philosophers
interested in the history of philosophy as well as those interested
in political philosophy, theology, and moral philosophy.
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