Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes
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Leviathan

Author: Thomas Hobbes, Noel Malcolm

Narrator: Richard Trinder

Unabridged: 25 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 07/08/2025


Synopsis

'He that is to govern a whole Nation, must read in himself, not this, or that particular man; but Man-kind.' Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan is not just one of the greatest philosophical texts in the English language; it is one of the most important works in the history of Western political thought. Almost every major tradition in the centuries after Hobbes—from radical democracy to authoritarianism—has been influenced by its arguments. Written in exile in a period of dramatic developments—civil war and regicide—Leviathan is in some ways the product of its own special circumstances. And yet, at the same time, it deals with fundamental issues that matter to all of us today: the nature and purpose of the state, the relation between human nature and politics, the idea of natural rights, the justification of authority, the concept of representation, the nature of sovereignty, the limits of obedience, and the relationship between religious obligations and human ones. This new edition offers a definitive text drawn from more than twenty years of research by Noel Malcolm, including, in English translation, all the most significant revisions made in Hobbes's later Latin translation of Leviathan.

About Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) was born in Wiltshire, England. Educated at Oxford, where he studied classics, he later became tutor to the son of William Cavendish, Baron of Hardwick. His first published work was a translation of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War in 1628. An interest in science and philosophy soon developed, heightened by extended travels in Europe. This led to Leviathan—the crowning achievement of his political science. It was so influential that it came under widespread attack and was in danger of condemnation by the House of Commons. Hobbes perforce lived quietly and published little more on political matters. At the age of eighty-four, he composed an autobiography in Latin verse and within the next three years translated the whole of Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Yasiru on March 25, 2013

Since some reviewers here seem to rate this work unfairly low because of their disagreements, ignoring both the importance of Leviathan and the basic power of the argument Hobbes forwards in it, I'll refer a couple of good, measured reviews with history and backdrop also found here- [URL not allowed]......more

Goodreads review by David on October 12, 2017

A Monster of a Book 12 Oct 2017 Woah, after three weeks I have finally managed to finish the behemoth of a book (which, ironically, Hobbes also wrote a book with that name) and I can now move onto something much lighter. Anyway, there was a time, when I was younger, when I was dreaming of one day get......more

Goodreads review by Laura on August 19, 2010

Though considered to be one of the most influential works of political thought, this manages to be both tedious and frightening – tedious because of Hobbes’s labored phrasing and protracted reasoning, and frightening because his conclusions have been put into play by stars like Stalin and Pol Pot. I......more

Goodreads review by Somayeh on September 06, 2022

_ کسی که به صرف لطف کس دیگری سودی عایدش می‌شود باید چنان عمل کند که شخص بخشنده از عملش که مبتنی بر حسن نیت بوده پشیمان نشود. خلاصه تموم شد . خیلی خوشحالم. خیلی. حتما واسه خودم یه هدیه می‌خرم🤪. و اما کتاب کلی درگیری ذهنی ایجاد کرد واسم. بعضی وقت‌ها در مقابل حرف هاش کم میاوردم. خیلی رُک حقیقتُ می‌کوبه......more

Goodreads review by Alp on August 02, 2018

Türkiye İş Bankası Yayınları’nın "Thomas Hobbes" biyografisini okuduktan sonra okuduğum için ünlü düşünürün felsefesini anlamakta zorluk çekmeden okuduğum "Leviathan", özellikle "İnsan Üzerine”" ve "Devlet Üzerine" olan ilk iki bölümüyle neden okunması gereken felsefi başyapıtlar arasında olduğunu o......more