Political Essay

HobbesApril29.pptx

A new metaphysics: “metaphysical materialism”

(contra Plato and Aristotle)

What is the nature of reality?

2. What causes things to happen?

Plato/Aristotle’s answer:

Forms

Particular things striving to realize their telos

Metaphysical materialism:

brute materiality

2. Matter in motion (eg. atoms)

Hobbes’ materialist political theory:

Abandon teleological thinking

Deal only with facts (empiricism)

Scientific method: induction

“Analyse:” take apart

Leviathan, ch. 46

Allusions to the “Schoolmen”

Hobbes’ characterization of ancient philosophy (esp. Plato and Aristotle)

P. 455, 456, 457 (537-9): Human mind has enormous propensity to speculate, jump to conclusions, easily clouded by flights of fancy!

The “vain philosophy” of Aristotle, p. 460 (542)

The problem of jargon, p. 467

What is real, what truly exists?

p. 459 (541): “Every part of the universe is body …”

Real knowledge/philosophy: reasoning from cause to effect, pp. 453-454 (535-536)

Chs.1, 2: Sense vs. imagination

Sense is the origin of everything, p. 7 (89)

Imagination is not to be trusted (“decaying sense”)

Pp. 8 (90), p. 15 (97)

Senses are feeble and have to be controlled, p. 9 (91)

So how do we understand politics?

Break political unit into its smallest component part; introspect, read thyself!

What do we find inside individuals?

Driven by passions; See ch. 6, pp. 34-35 (116-117)

What is happiness? “There is no summum bonum…no finis ultimus”; see Ch. 11, p. 57 (139);Ch. 6, p. 34 (116); Ch. 6 p. 28 (110)

Reason: not a governor, but a tool; See Ch. 5, pp. 22-23 (104-5), p. 25 (107); Ch. 46, pp. 453-4(535-536)

Desires; See Ch. 11, p. 58 (140)

Strong propensity toward conflict; See Ch. 11, pp. 61-63 (143-5)

Perverse kind of equality. See Ch. 13, p. 74 (156)