'He that is to govern a whole Nation, must read inรhimself, not this, or that particular man; but Man-kind.'Thomas Hobbes's Leviathanรis not just one of the greatest philosophicalรtexts in the English language; it is one of the most important works in theรhistory of Western political thought. Almost every major tradition in theรcenturies after Hobbes - from radical democracy to authoritarianism - hasรbeen i ...Full description
'He that is to govern a whole Nation, must read inรhimself, not this, or that particular man; but Man-kind.'Thomas Hobbes's Leviathanรis not just one of the greatest philosophicalรtexts in the English language; it is one of the most important works in theรhistory of Western political thought. Almost every major tradition in theรcenturies after Hobbes - from radical democracy to authoritarianism - hasรbeen influenced by its arguments. Written in exile in a period of dramaticรdevelopments - civil war and regicide - Leviathanรis in some ways theรproduct of its own special circumstances. And yet, at the same time,รit deals with fundamental issues that matter to all of us today: the natureรand purpose of the state, the relation between human nature and politics,รthe idea of natural rights, the justification of authority, the concept ofรrepresentation, the nature of sovereignty, the limits of obedience, andรthe relationship between religious obligations and human ones.This new edition offers a definitive text drawn from more than twentyรyears of research by Noel Malcolm, including, in English translation, allรthe most significant revisions made in Hobbes's later Latin translation of Leviathan, as well as extensive explanatory notes that elucidate Hobbes'sรlanguage and identify the many Biblical, classical, and other allusionsรthat are scattered through his text.