Quentin Skinner is one of the foremost historians in the world, and in Hobbes and Republican Liberty he offers a dazzling comparison of two rival theories about the nature of human liberty. The first originated in classical antiquity, and lay at the heart of the Roman republican tradition of public life. Thomas Hobbes was the most formidable enemy of this pattern of thought, and his successive attempts to discredit it constitute a truly epochal moment in the history of Anglophone political thought. Hobbes and Republican Liberty develops several of the themes announced by Quentin Skinner in his celebrated inaugural lecture on Liberty before Liberalism of 1997. Cogent, engaged, accessible, and indeed exhilarating, this new book will appeal to readers of history, politics, and philosophy at all levels from upper-undergraduate upwards, and provides an excellent introduction to the work of one of the most celebrated thinkers of our time.
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Illustrations; Acknowledgements; Notes on the text; Preface; 1. Introductory: Hobbes's humanist beginnings; 2. The Elements of Law: liberty described; 3. The Elements of Law: liberty circumscribed; 4. De cive: liberty defined; 5. Leviathan: liberty redefined; 6. Liberty and political obligation; Bibliographies; Index.
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'… Skinner breathes new life into historical Republican thinking… Skinner's explanation of the exposition gives logical shape to Hobbes - Skinner gets down the polemical force of 'Leviathan' and sets it free. … Skinner's circumspection reconstructs Hobbes' arguments, and proves that James Harrington was right in his criticism of Hobbes - his won evidence puts his 'freedom theory' to blame. A definition is not a demonstration.' Frankfurther Allgemeine Zeitung
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A dazzling comparison of two rival theories about the nature of human liberty.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780521886765
Publisert
2008-02-21
Utgiver
Vendor
Cambridge University Press
Vekt
490 gr
Høyde
224 mm
Bredde
144 mm
Dybde
18 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
268

Forfatter

Biographical note

Quentin Skinner is one of the leading historians in the world and Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge.