Leviathan: Or the Matter, Forme, and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil [Paperback]

Thomas Hobbes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2008

A cornerstone of modern western philosophy, addressing the role of man in government, society and religion

In 1651, Hobbes published his work about the relationship between the government and the individual. More than four centuries old, this brilliant yet ruthless book analyzes not only the bases of government but also physical nature and the roles of man.

Comparable to Plato's Republic in depth and insight, Leviathan includes two society-changing phenomena that Plato didn't dare to dream of -- the rise of great nation-states with their claims to absolute sovereignty, and modern science, with its unprecedented analytic power. To Hobbes, the leviathan -- a mythical sea creature described in the Old Testament -- represented his central thesis: that the state must be strong in order to control and protect its citizens. Even today, Hobbes's thesis in Leviathan is debated among scholars and philosophy aficionados around the globe.

One of the earliest attempts at a genuinely scientific understanding of politics and society in their modern form, this book also remains one of the most stimulating. In his timeless work, Hobbes outlines his ideas about the passions and the conduct of man, and how his theories are realized in every individual. Addressing free will and religion, Hobbes constructs an intelligent argument for the basis of religion within government and how to organize a peaceful and successful Christian commonwealth.

Like Plato's Republic, this book contains ideas on psychology, ethics, law, language, and religion that continue to challenge modern thinkers and exercise a profound influence on Western thought. A classic treatise of philosophy, Leviathan is critical reading for anyone who wishes to examine the human mind through the prisms of government and society.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Anyone who works extensively on Hobbes's philosophy will find this a useful new edition of Leviathan." Ethics --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Reprint edition (November 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416573607
• ISBN-13: 978-1416573609
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hobbes is a lot smarter than I am, July 5, 2004

By 

Ritesh Laud (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leviathan (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I finished reading Leviathan a couple months ago, but cringed every time I thought about writing a review. The book is large at over 700 pages and covers so much ground, a review would have to be a book in itself to do it justice. Due to Leviathan's philosophical content and somewhat antiquated language, it's very slow going. Each page needs time to digest.

So I'm not going to bother writing a real review. I will just say that Leviathan is a 5-star classic and worth your time, if you can deal with reading political philosophy. Hobbes divides the work into four major sections:

Of Man, in which he discusses human nature and why civilized people prefer peace to war. Here Hobbes establishes the primary reason that people form a government to rule over them: to safeguard them from enemies, both external and internal.

Of Common-wealth, in which Hobbes first talks about the several forms of government and the pros and cons of each. He then explains the rights that a government has over its people; according to Hobbes, the government can do pretty much anything it wants to. Finally he goes into the things that tend to weaken or dissolve a government.

Of a Christian Common-wealth, the longest section, in which Hobbes accepts the Bible as the word of God and quotes from it numerous time to bolster his position in support of a powerful government.

Of the Kingdome of Darknesse, the shortest and strangest section, in which Hobbes veers away from the topic of government and instead focuses on religious practices and beliefs of the day that he deems improper and inconsistent with the Bible.

It took me months to read this, but I came away with great respect for Hobbes and a better understanding of politics. I can't say that I agree with everything I read, but I think the majority of his arguments are sound and convincing.

Five stars, no doubt in my mind. But it's a dive into the deep end, so you'll probably only finish it if you really appreciate and enjoy philosophical discussion!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Work Neglected and Misunderstood, January 19, 2001

By 

Daniel Myers (Greenville, SC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leviathan (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Hobbes' sole claim to fame these days is the out-of-context quotation from him that life is "nasty, brutish, and short." The full quotation from chapter 13, section 9 which inveighs against the state of war, in concluding the statement on man's condition in such a state, is "and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short."-Beats me why "solitary" and "poor" are left out of the popular quotation-The point is, this is the condition Hobbes wanted to AVOID, not to justify! He had just lived through the bloodfest known as the English Civil War in which many of his friends were horribly slaughtered because of their religious beliefs. His whole point in writing this book was to advance arguments that one should not go to war over differences in religion. His controversial alternative is absolute obedience to the state and secular authorities. This alternative combined with the quote, noted above, so maddeningly and frequently taken out of context, have given Hobbes and his work the undeserved reputation as, well, curmudgeonly. One might ask what sort of book you might write if you had just witnessed the horrific slaughter and loss of esteemed friends that Hobbes had. You would probably write a book urging peace at any price even if it meant undue subjugation to the state at times. This is exactly what Hobbes did.-Hobbes belongs to that majestic, good-natured and unflappable tradition of brilliant English heretical political and religious writers including, among others, David Hume (well, Scottish too) and Bertrand Russell who seemed merely humored by the ecclesiastics calling down hell-fire upon them and similar dire threats from men in power. Scholars are STILL trying to debunk the work of these prominent men, among others more obscure, with little success it must be said.- Yes, the prose can be rough-going at times. But if you want an argument against war, specifically war over religion. This is the masterpiece to set your nose to. Once you've finished, it's hard not to smile when you think of Hobbes and his essential decency amidst the turbulent times in which he lived.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars PROMETHEUS edition is only first half., December 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Leviathan (Great Books in Philosophy) (Paperback)

Like most books, Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan is divided into chapters. But it is also divided into four "Parts." The Prometheus edition (not to be confused with the Penguin edition) includes only the first two parts, though they sell it as if it were the entire book instead of only the first half. Any other edition would be better than this.

If you want a good edition, you could go with the Hackett edition, edited by Edwin Curley, modernized and with the important variants (translated into English, of course) from the Latin edition of the Leviathan published during Hobbes' lifetime. A good edition that is not modernized is the Cambridge edition edited by Richard Tuck. (Having an editor does NOT necessarily mean that the text has been reduced; they often serve to rid the text of previous publishing typographical errors.) Which of these you should get will depend upon two things: Whether you are interested in the variants from the Latin edition, and whether you are comfortable reading something written in the 1600's. For most people, probably the modernized Hackett edition would be best, as many people have difficulty with 17th century English. But if you want Hobbes' exact words, I recommend the Cambridge edition. Whenever buying classic texts, which edition you buy can be extremely important, as the dreadful Prometheus edition demonstrates.