In this classic analysis, Leo Strauss pinpoints what is original and innovative in the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. He argues that Hobbes's ideas arose not from tradition or science but from his own deep knowledge and experience of human nature. Tracing the development of Hobbes's moral doctrine from his early writings to his major work The Leviathan, Strauss explains contradictions in the body of Hobbes's work and discovers startling connections between Hobbes and the thought of Plato, Thucydides, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, and Hegel.
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About the Author
Leo Strauss (1899-1973) was Robert Maynard Hutchins Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in political science at the University of Chicago. Among his works published by the University of Chicago Press are Thoughts on Machiavelli, The City and Man, and Natural Right and History.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Know Your Hobbes,
This review is from: The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: Its Basis and Its Genesis (Phoenix Books) (Paperback)
Leo Strauss, in his first printed work, does a superb job of distilling Hobbes essential ideas on man. By showing us the educational background of Hobbes and the philosophers he read Strauss, shows how Hobbes comes to believe that "man acts out of fear of death". The preservation of life is the primary goal of man in the "Hobbesean" world. "Vanity is the force that makes men blind, fear is the force which makes men see". Strauss points out that Hobbes started out as a classical political philosopher who was influenced by his readings of Aristotle and Plato. Not until Hobbes was forty years old and he discovered the works of Euclid did Hobbes move away from the "humanist" view to a more "scientific" approach to political philosophy. Euclid teaches Hobbes that politics must have a philosophy; it can't just be studied through history. Hobbes criticism of Aristotle and historism was; "that the historian takes the great as his standard, while the philosopher is concerned with the right and true". Hobbes is the first to see clearly between "right" and "law" the state is founded on the "right" "law" is a mere consequence. Strauss points out that, "Hobbes becomes the first philosopher to realize that politics can be raised to the rank of science". This book is not an easy read for the casual reader but is essential for one to understand the concept of political philosophy.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a note on latin,
This review is from: The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: Its Basis and Its Genesis (Phoenix Books) (Paperback)
I just want to note that quotations from Latin in this book are left untranslated so if you are not familiar with this language, a scholarly reading may require additonal work on your part.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Work On Hobbes,
This review is from: The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: Its Basis and Its Genesis (Paperback)
Leo Strauss, in his first printed work, does a superb job of distilling Hobbes essential ideas on man. By showing us the educational background of Hobbes and the philosopher's he read Strauss shows how Hobbes comes to believe that "man acts out of fear of death." The preservation of life is the primary goal of man in the "Hobbesian" world. "Vanity is the force that makes men blind, fear is the force which makes men see".
Strauss points out that Hobbes started out as a classical political philosopher who was influenced by his readings of Aristotle and Plato. Not until Hobbes was forty years old and when he discovered the works of Euclid, did Hobbes move away from the "humanist" view to a more "scientific" approach to political philosophy. Euclid teaches Hobbes that politics must have a philosophy; it can't just be studied through history. Hobbes criticism of Aristotle and historism was; "that the historian takes the great as his standard, while the philosopher is concerned with the right and true." Hobbes is the first to see clearly between "right" and "law" the state is founded on the "right" "law" is a mere consequence. Strauss points out that, "Hobbes becomes the first philosopher to realize that politics can be raised to the rank of science." As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I recommend this book for advanced students of those disciplines, as well as politics. This book is not an easy read for the casual reader but is essential for one to understand the concept of political philosophy.
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First Sentence:
HOBBES'S political philosophy is the first peculiarly modern attempt to give a coherent and exhaustive answer to the question of man's right life, which is at the same time the question of the right order of society. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
patrimonial monarchy, humanist period, traditional political philosophy, aristocratic virtue, modern political philosophy, supreme evil Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Aristotle's Rhetoric, Elements of Law, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle's Ethics, Aristotle's Politics, Earl of Devonshire, Ancient Law, Euclid's Elements, Sir Walter Raleigh New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
HOBBES'S political philosophy is the first peculiarly modern attempt to give a coherent and exhaustive answer to the question of man's right life, which is at the same time the question of the right order of society. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
patrimonial monarchy, humanist period, traditional political philosophy, aristocratic virtue, modern political philosophy, supreme evil Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Aristotle's Rhetoric, Elements of Law, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle's Ethics, Aristotle's Politics, Earl of Devonshire, Ancient Law, Euclid's Elements, Sir Walter Raleigh New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 16
books:
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49
books
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- The Nicomachean Ethics (Oxford World's Classics) by Aristotle on 4 pages
- Ancient Law (1920) by Henry Sumner Maine on page 102, page 103, and page 157
- The Phenomenology of Mind (Philosophical Classics) by Georg W. F. Hegel on page 57, and page 105
- Aubrey's Brief Lives (Nonpareil Books, No 77) by John Aubrey on page 31, and page 136
- The History of England (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Babington Macaulay on page 54
See all 16 books this book cites
- Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan Ethos by Robert D. Kaplan on page 81, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Myths of Freedom: Equality, Modern Thought, and Philosophical Radicalism (Contributions in Philosophy) by Stephen L. Gardner on page 95, and Back Matter
- The Course of Recognition (Institute for Human Sciences Vienna Lecture) by Paul Ricoeur in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Hobbes's 'Leviathan': A Reader's Guide by Laurie M. Johnson Bagby on page 129, and Back Matter
- Political Nature: Environmentalism and the Interpretation of Western Thought by John M. Meyer in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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