ENGLISH

Thomas Hobbes (Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers, Vol. 1)

By John Meadowcroft , Robin E. R. Bunce , R. E. R. Bunce

Book information

Publisher
Continuum International Publishing Group
Year
2009
ISBN
0826429793, 9780826429797
LCC
JC153.H66 B86 2009
Google Books ID
BxbtrxDkW_YC
Open Library ID
OL23161802M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
968 kB (991225 bytes)
Series
Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers 1
Edition
1
Pages
176\176
Orientation
yes
Scanned
no
Time added
2012-02-04 16:00:00

Description

In this volume, Dr Bounce (University of Cambridge) introduces Hobbes' ambitious philosophical project to discover the principles that govern the social world. Although we may dispute Hobbes' immodest assessment that he successfully attained this goal, Bunce nevertheless captures the extraordinary enduring value of Hobbes' work for the contemporary reader. Thomas Hobbes's name and the title of his most famous work, Leviathan, have come to be synonymous with the idea that the natural state of humankind is 'nasty, brutish, and short' and only the intervention of a munificent overlord may spare men and women from this unenviable fate by imposing order where there would otherwise be chaos. The problem that Hobbes formulated resonates through the centuries as the enduring dilemma of political organisation and social cooperation. Indeed it can be seen today in fields as diverse as theoretical game theory and international relations.

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