A Companion to Hobbes

Offers comprehensive treatment of Thomas Hobbes’s thought, providing readers withdifferent ways of understanding Hobbes as a systematic philosopher

As one of the founders of modern political philosophy,Thomas Hobbes is best known forhisideasregarding the nature of legitimate government and the necessity of society submitting to the absolute authority of sovereign power. Yet Hobbesproduced a wide range of writings,from translations of texts by Homer and Thucydides, to interpretations of Biblical books, to works devoted togeometry, optics,morality,and religion.Hobbes viewed himself aspresentingaunified method for theoretical and practical science—an interconnectedsystem of philosophythat providesmany entry points into his thought.

A Companion to Hobbesisanexpertly curatedcollection of essaysoffering close textualengagementwiththe thought of Thomas Hobbesin his major workswhile probinghisideasregarding natural philosophy, mathematics, human nature, civil philosophy, religion, and more.TheCompaniondiscusses theways in which scholars have tried to understand the unity and diversity ofHobbes’s philosophical systemandexamines the reception ofthe different parts ofHobbes’sphilosophybythinkerssuch asRené Descartes, Margaret Cavendish,David Hume, and Immanuel Kant.Presenting a diversity of freshperspectivesbybothemerging and established scholars, thisvolume:

• Provides a comprehensive treatment of Hobbes’s thought in his works,includingElements of Law,Elements of Philosophy, andLeviathan
• Explores the connecting points between Hobbes’metaphysics, epistemology, mathematics, natural philosophy, morality, and civil philosophy
• Offers readers strategies for understanding how the parts of Hobbes’sphilosophical systemfit together
• Examines Hobbes’s philosophy of mathematicsand hisattempts to understand geometrical objects and definitions
• Considers Hobbes’s philosophyin contexts such asthenatural state of humans,gender relations, andmaterialist worldviews
• Challenges conceptions of Hobbes’s moral theoryandhis views aboutthe rights of sovereigns

Part of the acclaimedBlackwell Companions to Philosophyseries,ACompanion to Hobbesis an invaluable resource for scholarsand advanced students of Early modern thought, particularly those from disciplines such as History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Intellectual History, History of Politics, Political Theory, and English.

Keywords:

Thomas Hobbes; Hobbes philosophy; Hobbes mathematics; Hobbes natural philosophy; Hobbes human nature; Hobbes morality; Hobbes reception; Hobbes critiques; Hobbes political philosophy; Hobbes religion; Hobbes essays; Hobbes scholarship; Hobbes debates