Publication Details
Hobbes as a Philosopher of Power
(Original title: Hobbes as a Philosopher of Power)
Filozofia, 61 (2006), 7, 511-519.Type of work: Papers
Publication language: English
Abstract
This essay is devoted to a critical analysis of the theory of power of Thomas Hobbes, as he presented it especially in his masterpiece, Leviathan (1651). Considering new contributions to this theme (M. Weber, B. Russell, C. W. Mills, A. Goldman, S. Lukes, etc.), I strive to explicate Hobbes’s ideas by means of such concepts as desire, interest, causation, as well as the right of nature and liberty. Special attention is being paid to the question of social contract and sovereign power, in which I see a danger of a totalitarian grip on power.
Keywords
Power, Sovereign power, Natural rights, Liberty, Social contract, Civil society, Max Weber, Efficient causality, Human intentions, Objective and subjective desires
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