Beyond Reason, Beyond Doubt: Sovereign Belief in Hobbes's Leviathan

by Colm Gillis

During an era of ‘anarchy in the UK,’ Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) wrote Leviathan (1651). Questions of faith, doubt, religion, and trust are at its core, with Hobbes advocating the unity of church and state. The political philosophy advocated in Leviathan stands in opposition to the ethic of modern liberal–democracies where public scepticism is encouraged, personal rights are sacrosanct, political initiatives are conceptualized as fact–based, and religious/cultural diversity is celebrated. In the analysis of Leviathan presented herein, it’s argued that Hobbes sought a radical suppression of scepticism and doubt amongst the citizenry because of his conviction that civil society was a useful fiction founded on belief. Hobbes thus suggests public discourse and civic existence is a matter of censored, regulated, belief and not a perestroika of free reason and open questioning.

118 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2018

About the author

Colm Gillis is an Irish-born author resident in Norwich, England. His writings focus on matters of political, historical and philosophical importance. He has written two books; "Mysteries of State in the Renaissance" and his new work, "The Exceptionally Decisive Carl Schmitt." His Amazon UK page is here - my link text