POLITICAL SCIENCE TERM

Nwogu Peter, 2025

Hobbes's political theory begins with his representation of the state of nature, a hypothetical condition in which individuals exist without a formal government or social contract. He argues that in this natural state, individuals are driven by self-preservation and are inherently in conflict with one another. This leads to a “war of all against all,” where life is characterized by constant fear, insecurity, and violence. According to Hobbes, human beings are motivated by basic instincts and desires, including the pursuit of self-interest and the avoidance of harm. To escape the chaos of the state of nature, Hobbes proposes the formation of a social contract, in which individuals collectively agree to surrender certain freedoms and submit to a sovereign authority. This sovereign he called “Leviathan," possesses absolute power to maintain order and enforce laws. The social contract, therefore, is the foundation of political legitimacy and social cohesion. His social contract theory and advocacy for absolute sovereignty remain central to debates in political philosophy and theory.

2017

In the course of knowledge, the aspect that gives enlightenment about a state, government, politics, liberty, justice and authority by exploring the question that come up in any of these aspects and tries to come up with recommendations to minimize friction and conflict in a state is commonly referred to as Political Philosophy. Overtime, the definition of political philosophy has been modified to suit different eras and epochs but it remains unchanged on the premise that it gives stance to how a state should be set up, what system of government minimizes conflict and ensures inclusiveness within a polity as well as summarize the rights and duties of individuals within the state. Many scholars have been brought to limelight through their ideological stance on what is or what ought to be in a state, before it can said to enjoy governance and authority and the boundary between the right of the governed and the governor and some of these ideals have been criticized on various ethical, moral philosophical and religious grounds but these scholars have made their mark as far as the field of Political philosophy by bringing forth their ideological thoughts, one of such scholar is Thomas Hobbes.

Forum Philosophicum, 2010

Thomas Hobbes bequeathed to us a comprehensive system, the interpretation of which remains a matter of disagreement even today. In his political theory, he pays most attention to the state community. He deliberates over the reasons for its origin, its decline and fall. Among the more detailed issues dealt with in his reflections, the more important ones are the following: the concept of the state of nature, human motivation, the state of war and peace, as well as considerations concerning the social contract. In order to be consistent in his argument, Hobbes also deals with the analysis of the structures of the state, the division of power and with the functions a state should perform. Due to these deliberations, he finally arrives at the secret of the state's durability. Though it is certainly the case that, since his times, the socio-political situation and circumstances have changed, many of the solutions postulated by Hobbes have not lost their value.

This is a translation of Leo Strauss, “Quelques remarques sur la science politique de Hobbes,” in Recherches Philosophiques (1933: 2), 609-22. It is translated from the French by Murray S. Y. Bessette. Note the French text is a translation by Alexandre Kojève of the original German, which can be found in Leo Strauss, Gesammelte Schriften, 6 Bde., Bd.3, Hobbes' politische Wissenschaft und zugehörige Schriften, Briefe, m. Sonderdruck von Bd.1 für die Subskribenten, ed. Heinrich Meier (Germany: Metzler, 2001). In light of the fact that Leo Strauss was close to and friendly with Alexandre Kojève and that he read French, I presume the French is a very good (although necessarily imperfect) reflection of Strauss’ authorial intent. Moreover, insofar as the article in question was only available in French until 1999 (a full 66 years), the French text remains of some interest, especially as there may be significant divergences, either omissions or additions, from the German. Thus, I would invite anyone with sufficient proficiency in German to make the necessary comparison.

The Historical Journal, 1966

T H E modern reputation of Hobbes's Leviathan as a work' incredibly overtopping all its successors in political theory' 1 has concentrated so much attention on Hobbes's own text that it has tended at the same time to divert attention away from any attempt to study the relations between his thought and its age, or to trace his affinities with the other political writers of his time. It has by now become an axiom of the historiography 2 that Hobbes's 'extraordinary boldness' 3 set him completely 'outside the main stream of English political thought' in his time. 4 The theme of the one study devoted to the reception of Hobbes's political doctrines has been that Hobbes stood out alone ' against all the powerful and still developing constitutionalist tradition', 6 but that the tradition ('fortunately') 6 proved too strong for him. Hobbes was 'the first to attack its fundamental assumptions ', 7 but no one followed his lead. Although he 'tried to sweep away the whole structure of traditional sanctions', 8 he succeeded only in provoking 'the widespread re-assertion of accepted principles', 9 a re-assertion, in fact, of 'the main English political tradition'. 10 And the more Leviathan has become accepted as 'the greatest, perhaps the sole masterpiece ' u of English political theory, the less has Hobbes seemed to bear any meaningful relation to the ephemeral political quarrels of his contemporaries. The doctrine of Leviathan has come to be regarded as 'an isolated phenomenon in English thought, without ancestry or posterity'. 12 Hobbes's system, it is assumed, was related to its age only by the 'intense opposition' which its 'boldness and originality' were to provoke. 13 The view, however, that Hobbes 'impressed English thought almost entirely by rousing opposition', 14 and that consequently 'no man of his time

Revista de la Universidad del Zulia

Man is a social being that always needs the contribution and help of other humans for survival. On the other hand, due to the difference of opinions, tastes, interests and objectives, they have conflicts with each other. Then, they assault each other in order to protect their personal interests and sometimes this hostility endangers the existence and health of the person and in some cases the survival of the society. This is why we need some laws to guard the society and ensure the survival of mankind and protect the rights of all individuals. These laws will put an end to the conflicts and differences and this is of course possible within a framework. Accordingly, given the importance and place of the problem of governance and its related issues including the ruler, people and law, as the most important concern of the political thinkers, the current essay seeks to study the political thought of Khajeh Nizam Al Mulk Tusi and Hobbes and the foundations of their poltical ideas and com...

La Revolution Francaise Cahiers De L Institut D Histoire De La Revolution Francaise, 2011

Hobbes Studies, 2022

This article identifies an argument in Hobbes’s writings often overlooked but relevant to current philosophical debates. Political philosophers tend to categorize his thought as representing consent or rescue theories of political authority. Though these interpretations have textual support and are understandable, they leave out one of his most compelling arguments—what we call the lesser evil argument for political authority, expressed most explicitly in Chapter 20 of Leviathan. Hobbes frankly admits the state’s evils but appeals to the significant disparity between those evils and the greater evils outside the state as a basis for political authority. More than a passing observation, aspects of the lesser evil argument appear in each of his three major political works. In addition to outlining this argument, the article examines its significance both for Hobbes scholarship and recent philosophical debates on political authority.