About the European Hobbes Society


All society, therefore, exists for the sake either of advantage or of glory,
i.e. it is a product of love of self, not love of friends.

Thomas Hobbes, De cive, i.2

The European Hobbes Society is an international and interdisciplinary research network, which aims to promote scholarship on the thought of Thomas Hobbes by providing a platform for scholars from across the world to share ideas and exchange research. It originated in 2011 as an informal network of scholars working in Europe— European refers to its origins, not its destination— and has since organised several  meetings including two workshops focussed on ‘Thomas Hobbes and the Politics of Religion’. The website was launched in September 2015 and the first biennial conference of the Society was held in September 2016.

The European Hobbes Society exists for the advantage and glory of all its members—and, of course, the glory of Thomas Hobbes. But, unlike Hobbes’s commonwealth, it is much more the product of love of friends than love of self, and long may that continue.