The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy) (Paperback)

by Tom Sorell (Editor) "Both Hobbes and Locke came from families of West Country clothiers, and Bacon was the grandson of a sheep-reeve (a chief shepherd)..." (more)
Key Phrases: rationally required desires, civil philosophy, civil science, Thomas Hobbes, Brief Lives, William Cavendish (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
It is for Leviathan, his controversial work of political philosophy, that Thomas Hobbes is best known, but his interests extended beyond morals and politics to metaphysics and epistemology, physics and geometry, history and law, and biblical interpretation. (Also, he wrote his autobiography at the age of 84--in Latin verse!) Thus the aim of The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes is "to offer a much broader view of Hobbes's intellectual preoccupations than is usually available," and "to bring together the different perspectives on Hobbes that are now being developed in parallel by philosophers, historians of mathematics and science, historians of early modern England, political scientists, and writers of literary studies." It succeeds admirably, rising to a challenge set by the man himself: "It must be extremely hard to find out the opinions and meanings of those men that are gone from us long ago, and have left us no other signification thereof but their books."

The Companion follows the order of Hobbes's own system, working from physics to psychology to politics. His views on psychology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy--traditionally considered the crucial topics of his system--are expertly handled by Bernard Gert, Richard Tuck, and Alan Ryan. Perhaps more gratifying are the essays on less familiar topics: Yves Charles Zarka reveals Hobbes's unexpected commitment to what superficially looks like Aristotelian metaphysics, while Hardy Grant discusses his career in mathematics, a diversion marred by an embarrassing claim to have squared the circle. --Glenn Branch

Review
"...the general quality is high..." Choice

"The Cambridge Companion series have produced fine intermediate introductions to the principle philosophers of the Western canon. This one on Hobbes does the philosopher just fine....This introduction to modern reading of him is excellent. Recommended." The Reader's Review

"...the essays in The Cambridge Companion provide an excellent overview of the current state of Hobbes studies. Despite a few lapses in editing, it is an attractive volume that can be recommended to anyone with a serious interest in Hobbes' thought." Donald Rutherford, International Philosophical Quarterly

"...a valuable resource for those interested in learning more about the graet English philosopher." The Philosophical Review

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• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 26, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521422442
• ISBN-13: 978-0521422444
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #749,579 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  
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• Also Available in: Hardcover  |  All Editions