In his masterpiece Leviathan(1651),Thomas Hobbes used a series of rhetorical devices in order to persuade the English reader of the truth of his political theories and of his civil science.The first rhetorical device ...In his masterpiece Leviathan(1651),Thomas Hobbes used a series of rhetorical devices in order to persuade the English reader of the truth of his political theories and of his civil science.The first rhetorical device is the engraved frontispiece of the book,where the sword of justice held by the sovereign is also a powerful sword of rhetoric(as shown by the table depicting Rhetoric in a Martianus Capella’s manuscript owned by the Duke of Urbino).Moreover,Hobbes employs directly the metaphor of the state as a body politic and the analogy of the sovereign as the soul of the state and he also refers—though indirectly—to the Platonic analogy of the sovereign as physician of the state,evoking political thinkers,such as King James VI&I and Edward Forset.展开更多
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury （1588-1679） is one of the most influential British philosophers of the seventeenthcentury. The paper reconstructs Hobbes＇s legal theory, focusing on his definition of law （civil law, as...Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury （1588-1679） is one of the most influential British philosophers of the seventeenthcentury. The paper reconstructs Hobbes＇s legal theory, focusing on his definition of law （civil law, as he calls it）found in Leviathan, XXVI, 3. The definition is only apparently simple, since it has been interpreted in differentways, especially with regard to the connections with natural law-and the Hobbesian assertion that civil law andnatural law ＂contain each other＂. Moreover, the definition of civil law changes in the corresponding paragraph ofthe Latin version of 1668. What is the meaning of this change？ What about the divisions of the law/divisio legis,which-as Hobbes emphasizes-appears in different forms in different writers？ Finally, if a good law is ＂thatwhich is needful, for the good of the people＂, what is it that dictates the paths to be followed by the sovereignrepresentative, who is also the supreme legislator, when writing a new law？ These are the main problems inHobbes＇s legal thought that the paper will address.展开更多
文摘In his masterpiece Leviathan(1651),Thomas Hobbes used a series of rhetorical devices in order to persuade the English reader of the truth of his political theories and of his civil science.The first rhetorical device is the engraved frontispiece of the book,where the sword of justice held by the sovereign is also a powerful sword of rhetoric(as shown by the table depicting Rhetoric in a Martianus Capella’s manuscript owned by the Duke of Urbino).Moreover,Hobbes employs directly the metaphor of the state as a body politic and the analogy of the sovereign as the soul of the state and he also refers—though indirectly—to the Platonic analogy of the sovereign as physician of the state,evoking political thinkers,such as King James VI&I and Edward Forset.
文摘Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury （1588-1679） is one of the most influential British philosophers of the seventeenthcentury. The paper reconstructs Hobbes＇s legal theory, focusing on his definition of law （civil law, as he calls it）found in Leviathan, XXVI, 3. The definition is only apparently simple, since it has been interpreted in differentways, especially with regard to the connections with natural law-and the Hobbesian assertion that civil law andnatural law ＂contain each other＂. Moreover, the definition of civil law changes in the corresponding paragraph ofthe Latin version of 1668. What is the meaning of this change？ What about the divisions of the law/divisio legis,which-as Hobbes emphasizes-appears in different forms in different writers？ Finally, if a good law is ＂thatwhich is needful, for the good of the people＂, what is it that dictates the paths to be followed by the sovereignrepresentative, who is also the supreme legislator, when writing a new law？ These are the main problems inHobbes＇s legal thought that the paper will address.
