Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan and Political Theory

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, definitions, and concepts from Thomas Hobbes's 'Leviathan' and his associated philosophical system.

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)

An English philosopher known for his work on political philosophy, specifically his 1651 book 'Leviathan,' which established the social contract theory.

State of Nature

A hypothetical condition of humanity without a common power to keep them all in awe, described by Hobbes as a 'war of every man against every man' where life is 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.'

Leviathan

Hobbes's term for the Commonwealth or State, which he views as an 'artificial man' created for the protection and defense of natural men.

Sense

Original fancy caused by the pressure or motion of external objects upon the organs of the body, which then continues to the brain.

Imagination

The residue of sensory motion that remains after the object is removed; Hobbes defines it as 'decaying sense.'

Dormant Sense / Memory

The expression of decaying sense when we intend to signify that the sense is fading, old, and past.

The Train of Thoughts

The succession of one thought to another, also known as mental discourse; it can be unguided or regulated by desire and design.

Speech

The noble invention consisting of names and their connection, used to register thoughts and transfer mental discourse into verbal discourse.

Reason

The faculty of the mind defined by Hobbes as 'reckoning'—adding and subtracting the consequences of general names agreed upon to mark and signify thoughts.

Science

The knowledge of consequences and the dependence of one fact upon another, derived from settled definitions and right reasoning.

Endeavour

The small internal beginnings of voluntary motion within the human body, which can be toward something (appetite/desire) or away from it (aversion).

Good and Evil

Relative terms used with respect to the person using them; 'Good' is the object of desire/appetite, while 'Evil' is the object of hate/aversion.

Deliberation

The whole sum of alternate appetites, aversions, hopes, and fears that continue until a thing is either done or thought impossible.

The Will

The last appetite (or aversion) in deliberation that immediately precedes the action or omission.

Felicity

Continual success in obtaining those things which a man from time to time desires; a continual progress of desire rather than a final satisfied goal.

Power

A man's present means to obtain some future apparent good, categorized as either natural (eminence of faculties) or instrumental (acquired means like riches or reputation).

Right of Nature (Jus Naturale)

The liberty each man has to use his own power for the preservation of his own nature/life.

Law of Nature (Lex Naturalis)

A precept or general rule found out by reason, by which a man is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life.

Social Contract

The mutual transferring of right by which men exit the state of nature and institute a Commonwealth for their security.

Soverign

The person or assembly of men carrying the 'person' of the Commonwealth, endowed with supreme power to ensure peace and common defense.

Monarchy

A form of Commonwealth where the representative is one man.

Democracy

A form of Commonwealth where the representative is an assembly of all who will come together.

Aristocracy

A form of Commonwealth where the representative is an assembly of only a part of the population.

Civil Laws

Rules that the Commonwealth has commanded subjects to use for the distinction of right and wrong.

Natural Law vs. Civil Law

Different parts of law where natural law is unwritten (qualities like equity and justice) and civil law is written/decreed; Hobbes argues they contain each other.

Public Ministers

Persons employed by the Sovereign in any affairs, with authority to represent the person of the Commonwealth in that employment.

Sin

A transgression of a law and a contempt of the legislator, which includes the intention to break the law.

Crime

A sin consisting in the committing of that which the law forbids or the omission of what it has commanded; must be an act that can be perceived by a judge.

Punishment

An evil inflicted by public authority on someone who has transgressed the law, intended to dispose the wills of men to obedience.

The Office of the Sovereign

The duty to procure the safety of the people (including preservation and contentments of life) by general providence and public instruction.