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.
