| This dissertation argues that Thomas Hobbes's neglected but important work Behemoth examines the causes of the English Civil War (1640-1660) in order to lay a foundation for the subordination of the church to the state. Hobbes blames the violence of the civil war on certain beliefs about the nature of truth, politics, and God. He takes issue, in particular, with the Puritan emphasis on the private or individual interpretation of the Bible and on the idea of eternal damnation, and he finds in these beliefs the primary source of sectarian persecution and strife.; I argue that in order to educate human beings towards peace, and thereby overcome religious wars, Hobbes teaches that all moral opinions reflect only the individual's arbitrary desires and aversions. Hobbes thereby strips religious and philosophical authorities of their pretended authority over abstractions (such as Good, Evil, Liberty, etc.) for the sake of which they persecute others. Man is not ordered by God, but by his most powerful passion---his fear of violent death. Man's enlightenment is his recognition of this powerful passion as his fundamental nature and his understanding of the civil state as the means to security. Having interpreted morality in terms of the passions, Hobbes can lay the foundation for the state.; Out of his understanding of human nature, Hobbes develops a new understanding of sovereignty on which to build the state. Since all human beings are, by nature, born to the same desire for self-preservation, they are by nature free and equal. Their wills belong to themselves and, consequently, legitimate government must have its source in consent. Hobbes encourages men to consent to be governed by the state, because the state exists to protect the security of the individual from both foreign and domestic threats. By obeying the state's authority, man obeys his own enlightened will and interests. It is through his justification of the state (Leviathan) and his reinterpretation of church-state relations (Behemoth) that Hobbes contributes to the founding of modern Liberalism. Behemoth therefore constitutes a necessary component of Hobbes's project. |
