Three Discourses: A Critical Modern Edition of Newly Identified Work of the Young Hobbes - Hardcover

Hobbes, Thomas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226345459 ISBN 13: 9780226345451

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1996

Synopsis

For the first time in three centuries, this book brings back into print three discourses now confirmed to have been written by the young Thomas Hobbes. Their contents may well lead to a resolution of the long-standing controversy surrounding Hobbes's early influences and the subsequent development of his thought. The volume begins with the recent history of the discourses, first published as part of the anonymous seventeenth-century work, Horae Subsecivae. Drawing upon both internal evidence and external confirmation afforded by new statistical "wordprinting" techniques, the editors present a compelling case for Hobbes's authorship.

Saxonhouse and Reynolds present the complete texts of the discourse with full annotations and modernized spellings. These are followed by a lengthy essay analyzing the pieces' significance for Hobbes's intellectual development and modern political thought more generally. The discourses provide the strongest evidence to date for the profound influences of Bacon and Machiavelli on the young Hobbes, and they add a new dimension to the much-debated impact of the scientific method on his thought. The book also contains both introductory and in-depth explanations of statistical "wordprinting."

About this title

From the Back Cover

For the first time in three centuries, this book brings back into print three texts now confirmed to have been written by the young Thomas Hobbes. The contents of these discourses will lead, at the very least, to a serious reappraisal of the long-standing controversy surrounding Hobbes's early influences and the subsequent development of his thought. The volume begins with the recent history of the discourses, first published as part of the anonymous seventeenth-century work, Horae Subsecivae. Drawing upon both internal evidence and external confirmation afforded by new statistical "word-printing" techniques, the editors present a definitive case for Hobbes's authorship. The discourses provide the strongest evidence to date for the profound influences of Bacon and Machiavelli on the young Hobbes, and they add a new dimension to the much-debated impact of the scientific method on his thought. These texts, "Upon the Beginning of Tacitus", "Of Rome", and "Of Laws", provide direct access to the intellectual concerns and early influences and questions that eventually led Hobbes to the fully formed philosophy of Leviathan. In the discourses, Hobbes addresses the problem of identifying secular sources of political power that might provide security and stability in a world of constant flux, and works to free himself from some of the traditional foundations of political order.

About the Author

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher and a founder of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, which established the social contract theory that has served as the foundation for much of later Western political philosophy. Hobbes also wrote works of history, general philosophy, jurisprudence, geometry, theology, and ethics.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0226345459
• ISBN 13: 9780226345451
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192
• Editor: Reynolds Noel B., Saxonhouse Arlene W.