Article: ‘Thomas Hobbes, D.D.: Theology, Orthodoxy, and History’

/in /by

Jonathan Sheehan: ‘Thomas Hobbes, D.D.: Theology, Orthodoxy, and History’, Journal of Modern History, 88 (2016), pp. 249-74.

Extract:  ‘[W]as Thomas Hobbes—the most scandalous political philosopher of the seventeenth century and possibly of the entire early modern period—a theologian? I approach this question historiographically, because in the past century it has become possible to think of Hobbes as not just a Christian, but an orthodox one as well. Hobbesian philosophy actually is theology, in this view, and, for some, an orthodox theology at that. Tracing the emergence of this possibility nicely illuminates some of the challenges that theology can pose to a secular intellectual history. I also approach the question more interpretively and consider how Hobbes’s own work, and specifically his Leviathan, might offer direction to intellectual historians looking for new ways to think about theology.’

Article: ‘Hobbes and political realism’

/in , /by

Robin Douglass: ‘Hobbes and political realism’, European Journal of Political Theory, published online: November 20, 2016 (doi: 10.1177/1474885116677481)

Abstract: Thomas Hobbes has recently been cast as one of the forefathers of political realism. This article evaluates his place in the realist tradition by focusing on three key themes: the priority of legitimacy over justice, the relation between ethics and politics, and the place of imagination in politics. The thread uniting these themes is the importance Hobbes placed on achieving a moral consensus around peaceful coexistence, a point which distances him from realists who view the two as competing goals of politics. The article maintains that only a qualified version of the autonomy of the political position can be attributed to Hobbes, while arguing more generally that attending to the relation between ethics and politics is central to assessing his liberal credentials from a realist perspective. Against the prevalent reading of Hobbes as a hypothetical contract theorist, the article proceeds to show that the place of consent in his theory is better understood as part of his wider goal of transforming the imagination of his audience: a goal which is animated by concerns that realists share.

Hobbes Studies: 2017 Essay Competition

/in , /by

Hobbes Studies is pleased to invite submissions to the Hobbes Studies Essay Competition 2017. Submissions should treat the philosophical, political historical, literary, religious, or scientific aspects of the thought of Thomas Hobbes and be no more than 10 000 words. Essays are invited from researchers in any field who are currently enrolled in postgraduate study or completed their PhD no earlier than 3rd March 2012. Submissions must be received by 3rd March 2017. The judges reserve the right not to make an award.

 

All submissions should be uploaded to the journal’s Editorial Manager website: http://www.editorialmanager.com/hobs/default.aspx. When submitting your manuscript for consideration, please note in the comments box that you desire to be considered for the 2017 competition (immediately before uploading the files), and include your CV. Submissions must follow Hobbes Studies submission guidelines. For questions, please email the Assistant Editor at hobbestudies@gmail.com. Essays must not have been previously published or simultaneously submitted for consideration elsewhere.

 

Submissions will be considered for publication in a forthcoming issue of Hobbes Studies. The winning essay will be awarded 350 euros, a year’s subscription to the journal and be published in Hobbes Studies.

 

About the Journal

Hobbes Studies is an international, peer-reviewed scholarly journal. It publishes research (articles, book symposia, research notes and book reviews) about philosophical, political historical, literary, religious, and scientific aspects of Thomas Hobbes’s thought. For previous issues, and further information see www.brill.com/hobbes-studies. You can also read the 2016 prize winning essay here: http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/18750257-0290200

 

Editor-in-Chief

Gabriella Slomp, University of St Andrews

 

Associate Editor

Marcus Adams, University at Albany, SUNY

 

Assistant Editor

Joanne Paul, University of Sussex

 

Founding Editor

Martin A. Bertman†

 

Editorial Board

Timo Airaksinen, University of Helsinki

Jeffrey Barnouw, The University of Texas at Austin

Adrian Blau, King’s College London

Mónica Brito-Vieira, University of York

Juhana Lemetti, University of Helsinki

Sir Noel Malcolm, All Souls College, Oxford

Aloysius P. Martinich, The University of Texas at Austin

Timothy Raylor, Carleton College

Rosamond Rhodes, CUNY

 

Hobbes Studies

New issue of Hobbes Studies

/in , /by

A new issue of Hobbes Studies is now available, containing the following articles:

Elliott Karstadt: The Place of Interests in Hobbes’s Civil Science

James J. Hamilton: Hobbes on Felicity: Aristotle, Bacon and Eudaimonia

Marcus Schultz-Bergin: The Authority Dilemma: Eternal Salvation and Authorization in Hobbes’s Leviathan

S. A. Lloyd: Authorization and Moral Responsibility in the Philosophy of Hobbes

There are also reviews of Michael Byron’s Submission and Subjection in Leviathan: Good Subjects in the Hobbesian Commonwealth (reviewed by Luciano Venezia), Robin Douglass’s Rousseau and Hobbes: Nature, Free Will, and the Passions (reviewed by  Ioannis D. Evrigenis), Tom Sorell’s Emergencies and Politics: A Sober Hobbesian Approach (reviewed by Maximilian Jaede), Nicolas Dubos’ Thomas Hobbes et l’Histoire: Système et Récits à l’Âge Classique (reviewed by  George Wright), and of a new edition of De homine (reviewed by Johann Sommerville).

Lecture Series: War and Peace in Hobbes’s Political Philosophy

/in , , , /by

A lecture series on “War and Peace in Hobbes’s Political Philosophy” will take place at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Kollegienhaus KH. 2.012, Universitätsstraße 15, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
In eight lectures, international experts (including Kinch Hoekstra, Peter Schröder and Patricia Springborg) alongside younger scholars will discuss Thomas Hobbes’s political philosophy and his notions of war and peace.
Questions which will be discussed are:
Is Hobbes a “Prince of Peace”? Is the title of “realist” correct to describe the complexity of his political philosophy? What kind of peace can we find in Hobbes, and what are its psychological preconditions? What kind of arguments and literary techniques does Hobbes use for his philosophical and his political goals? Is his translation of Thucydides a mere translation?
Attendance is free but registration is recommended. You are welcome to attend only some of the lectures.  If you would like to join us for dinner after a lecture, please let us know, so that we can adjust our reservations. For any further questions please contact Eva.Odzuck@fau.de.
Please find all information in this pdf.

hobbeslectures