What is Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan?

This metaphor created by Hobbes expresses the need to submit to a strong power in order to protect oneself.

The idea that human beings are fundamentally selfish has been nurtured by many thinkers over the centuries, and this has partly influenced the way we understand our minds.

The philosopher Thomas Hobbes, for example, is one of the great representatives of this ideological tradition, and he is so in part because of one of the most famous concepts he developed: the Leviathan..

What is the Leviathan in philosophy?

The Leviathanor Leviathan, as it is popularly known, is surely the most important and transcendental work of the 17th century English philosopher, politician and thinker Thomas Hobbes.

Referring to and writing with splendid mastery, the author refers to the most feared biblical monster to explain and justify the existence of an absolutist State that subjugates its citizens. an absolutist state that subjugates its citizens.. Written in 1651, his work has been of great inspiration in political science and, paradoxically, in the evolution of social law.

In the biblical scriptures

As we noted above, the character of Leviathan comes from mythology and the biblical comes from mythology and from the writings of the Bible, whose governments of the Middle Ages used the character of the Leviathan as an inspiration.The Leviathan is a being who was used by the governments of the Middle Ages to justify the royal governments "by the grace of God".

The Leviathan is a fearsome being who has no pity, no scruples and no compassion. It is of gigantic size and, according to the Old Testament, it has been related to the devil himself and was defeated by God to make good prevail over evil.

But... where is he? the relationship between this monster and the role of the State, according to Hobbes.?

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Thomas Hobbes and his political adaptation of the Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes was born in England in 1588 at a time in history when Great Britain was threatened by the feared and invincible Spanish Armada. This philosopher graduated from Oxford University in scholastic studies and philosophical logic in scholastic studies and philosophical logic. influenced by authors such as Pierre Gassendi and René Descartes, he would be considered a key author in the development of Western political theory.

Returning to his work, the Leviathan is a book that consists of 4 parts, where he explains the relationship between man and the State by means of a consensual pact in the relationship of power between the commanded and the mandatary.

Basically, the Leviathan, the Government, is a terrifying but necessary figure that, for Hobbes, serves to make a certain peace and order prevail, necessary so that civilization progresses and individuals do not threaten or suffer threats or attacks from other individuals.

1. Man

This part analyzes man as a human individual, a being of knowledge and wisdom. Man is made and develops through experience; experience is defined as the repetition of acts and experiences that will shape society. He will make use of the word to carry out the imposition of truth, through oratory and political discourse..

The problem arises with man's own desires. Due to the material and passionate impulses of people, individual interests will always turn against one another, thus generating conflict, especiallythus generating conflict, especially in the pursuit of power and wealth.

It was in this enclave that Hobbes uttered what will be remembered as one of the most famous phrases of humanity: "homo homini lupus est" (man is a wolf to man). For this reason, the pillars in the building of society are ethics, morality and justice. But, for Hobbes, something more is needed.

2. The State

It is in this space of action that Hobbes will introduce the concept of the "Social Pact" or "Social Contract".manipulated and elaborated by men to ensure individual security and protection in order to put an end to conflicts over individual interests.

It is in the State where moral laws prevail over natural laws. That is, collective desires prevail over the passional desires of men. For Hobbes, the only function of government is to establish and ensure peace and stability in society.stability in society.

The author defends only three possible models of government: monarchy (his favorite), aristocracy and democracy.in that precise order. He has a preference for absolutism because it justifies the common good, where private and public interests are one, admitting that "it is impossible that if a King is rich, his people are poor".

3. The Christian State

Thomas Hobbes was an avowed believer, but that did not mean that the destiny of an entire people was subordinated to the of an entire people was not therefore subordinated to divinity.. Moreover, he went so far as to question the Ten Commandments of Moses because of an absence of evidence as to who and for what real purpose those laws were issued.

Consequently, the author strongly emphasized the dependence of the Church on the sovereign, in this case the monarch, in order to avoid pretentious interpretations that would harm the common good, the peace that he so strongly defended.

He concludes attributing a secondary role to the ChurchThe Church, subordinated by the supreme head of the State (the Catholic kings), will be considered the supreme shepherds of its own people, holding the sole power to legislate for its subjects.

4. The Kingdom of Darkness

Being perhaps the most controversial section, Hobbes makes a clear and harsh criticism of religious institutions, the Church in particular. He names this chapter "The Kingdom of Darkness" as part of the corrupt and cynical framework that the house of God has had throughout the history of the great empires, such as the Roman one.

He accuses the Christian authorities of having failed to tell the truth.Hobbes, of wanting to impose ignorance for his own benefit and thus having the masses well indoctrinated with false practices, such as idolatry to saints, figures, images or relics that are forbidden by the word of God.

However, and keeping a distance from the machinations he so much rejects, Hobbes asserts that in some specific cases the word of truth can be silenced or silenced, if that leads to the destabilization of the State by means of a rebellion that disturbs that alters the established order and status quo.