Hobbes's Kingdom of Light: A Study of the Foundations of Modern Political Philosophy

by Devin Stauffer

Overview

Was Hobbes the first great architect of modern political philosophy? Highly critical of the classical tradition in philosophy, particularly Aristotle, Hobbes thought that he had established a new science of morality and politics. Devin Stauffer here delves into Hobbes’s critique of the classical tradition, making this oft-neglected aspect of the philosopher’s thought the basis of a new, comprehensive interpretation of his political philosophy.

In Hobbes’s Kingdom of Light, Stauffer argues that Hobbes was engaged in a struggle on multiple fronts against forces, both philosophic and religious, that he thought had long distorted philosophy and destroyed the prospects of a lasting peace in politics. By exploring the twists and turns of Hobbes’s arguments, not only in his famous Leviathan but throughout his corpus, Stauffer uncovers the details of Hobbes’s critique of an older outlook, rooted in classical philosophy and Christian theology, and reveals the complexity of Hobbes’s war against the “Kingdom of Darkness.” He also describes the key features of the new outlook—the “Kingdom of Light”—that Hobbes sought to put in its place. Hobbes’s venture helped to prepare the way for the later emergence of modern liberalism and modern secularism. Hobbes’s Kingdom of Light is a wide-ranging and ambitious exploration of Hobbes’s thought.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226552903
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	08/02/2018
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Devin Stauffer is professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Plato’s Introduction to the Question of Justice and The Unity of Plato’s “Gorgias.”

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Editions and AbbreviationsIntroduction
Chapter One. “Of Darkness from Vain Philosophy”
Chapter Two. Hobbes’s Natural Philosophy
Chapter Three. Religion and Theology I: “Of Religion”
Chapter Four. Religion and Theology II: Hobbes’s Natural Theology
Chapter Five. Religion and Theology III: Hobbes’s Confrontation with the Bible
Chapter Six. Hobbes’s Political Philosophy I: Man and Morality
Chapter Seven. Hobbes’s Political Philosophy II: The Hobbesian Commonwealth
Appendix. The Engraved Title Page of Leviathan
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

The book's provocative and welcome conceit is that when we study the endlessly fascinating intricacies of Hobbes's seventeenth-century arguments, we are doing more than diving into a particular historical moment or following the back and forth of a particular language game; we are evaluating the justifications for our way of life.

The Review of Politics - Bryan Garsten

Stauffer offers a brilliant and controversial esoteric interpretation of Hobbes’s attack on religion, and relates it to Hobbes’s metaphysics, natural philosophy, and politics/ethics. . . . Stauffer’s book should be read by Hobbes scholars and by early modern specialists more generally, as well as anyone interested in history of philosophy in relation to metaphysics, religion, science, politics and ethics.

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews - Adrian Blau

"For scholars of Hobbes looking for a serious argument that he is best seen as the patron saint of secular enlightenment, this is the book to read."

Hobbes Studies

A brilliant and sustained reflection on Hobbes’s philosophic, theological, and political-philosophic attempt to dispel the ‘Kingdom of Darkness.’ Stauffer clarifies and assesses the arguments that led Hobbes to his extraordinary and highly influential attempt to establish human society on a radically new, ‘enlightened,’ secular basis. This is a vitally important book, not only for those who wish to understand the true relation between Hobbes’s natural science and his political science but for anyone who wishes to understand the modern world.

Timothy Burns

"For scholars of Hobbes looking for a serious argument that he is best seen as the patron saint of secular enlightenment, this is the book to read."-- "Hobbes Studies"

"Stauffer offers a brilliant and controversial esoteric interpretation of Hobbes's attack on religion, and relates it to Hobbes's metaphysics, natural philosophy, and politics/ethics. . . . Stauffer's book should be read by Hobbes scholars and by early modern specialists more generally, as well as anyone interested in history of philosophy in relation to metaphysics, religion, science, politics and ethics."--Adrian Blau "Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"

"The book's provocative and welcome conceit is that when we study the endlessly fascinating intricacies of Hobbes's seventeenth-century arguments, we are doing more than diving into a particular historical moment or following the back and forth of a particular language game; we are evaluating the justifications for our way of life."--Bryan Garsten "The Review of Politics"

"A brilliant and sustained reflection on Hobbes's philosophic, theological, and political-philosophic attempt to dispel the 'Kingdom of Darkness.' Stauffer clarifies and assesses the arguments that led Hobbes to his extraordinary and highly influential attempt to establish human society on a radically new, 'enlightened, ' secular basis. This is a vitally important book, not only for those who wish to understand the true relation between Hobbes's natural science and his political science but for anyone who wishes to understand the modern world."--Timothy Burns, Baylor University

From the Publisher