Hobbes and the Question of Power

Journal of the History of Philosophy 52 (1):61-85 (2014)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Thomas Hobbes has been hailed as the philosopher of power par excellence; however, I demonstrate that Hobbes’s conceptualization of political power is not stable across his texts. Once the distinction is made between the authorized and the effective power of the sovereign, it is no longer sufficient simply to defend a doctrine of the authorized power of the sovereign; such a doctrine must be robustly complemented by an account of how the effective power commensurate to this authority might be achieved. Nor is this straightforward: for effective political power can fluctuate, sometimes severely. In this light, the prevalent juridical reading of Hobbes’s political philosophy is inadequate.

Author's Profile

Sandra Leonie Field
Monash University

Analytics

Added to PP
2013-04-16

Downloads
6,169 (#710)

6 months
1,237 (#644)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?