The evolving concept of freedom in Thomas Hobbes. Part II: Freedom in Leviathan.

Authors

  • QUENTIN SKINNER

Keywords:

Thomas Hobbes, theory of action, theory of freedom, Elements of Law, Natural and Politic, De Cive.

Abstract

In this second part of his study (the first was published in issue 134 of Revista de Estudios Políticos), Quentin Skinner gives a detailed analysis of the radical changes that Thomas Hobbes brought into his theory of freedom when he wrote his masterpiece, Leviathan. The article shows clearly that Hobbes constructed his new concept of freedom —now understood simply as the absence of impediment— within the context of a heated ongoing debate with those who defended the Republic arguing that freedom was impossible outside the «Free State».

Published

2008-03-24

Issue

Section

ARTICLES