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.

Reviews

The three discourses printed here, together with 12 other pieces, were first published in 1620 under the title Horae Subsecivae (Leisure Hours). Hobbes may have been the author of the discourses, but it was not until Reynolds and Saxonhouse carried out a statistical analysis ("wordprint") of the text that reasonably solid evidence for Hobbes's authorship was demonstrated. The editors do note, however, that the shorter pieces in the Horae Subsecivae were likely written by someone other than Hobbes, possibly William Cavendish, a student of Hobbes's and later second Earl of Devonshire. This volume begins with an essay by the editors on Hobbes and the Horae Subsecivae; the texts of the three discourses ("A Discourse Upon the Beginning of Tacitus," "A Discourse of Rome," and "A Discourse of Laws"), annotated and with modern spellings, follow. Part 3 contains an excellent essay by Saxonhouse on Hobbes's place in modern political thought. Part 4 is a short essay on statistical wordprinting as an analytical tool. This book deserves a place in all libraries supporting programs in the history and philosophy of political thought.
Terry C. Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

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