Research Catalog

Hobbes and the artifice of eternity

Title
Hobbes and the artifice of eternity / Christopher Scott McClure.
Author
McClure, Christopher Scott
Publication
  • New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2016.
  • ©2016

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TextUse in library JFE 16-12525Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
vii, 234 pages; 24 cm
Summary
"Thomas Hobbes argues that the fear of violent death is the most reliable passion on which to found political society. His role in shaping the contemporary view of religion and honor in the West is pivotal, yet his ideas are famously riddled with contradictions. In this breakthrough study, McClure finds evidence that Hobbes' apparent inconsistencies are intentional, part of a sophisticated rhetorical strategy meant to make man more afraid of death than he naturally is. Hobbes subtly undermined two of the most powerful manifestations of man's desire for immortality: the religious belief in an afterlife and the secular desire for eternal fame through honor. McClure argues that Hobbes purposefully stirred up controversy, provoking his adversaries into attacking him and unwittingly spreading his message. This study will appeal to scholars of Hobbes, political theorists, historians of early modern political thought and anyone interested in the genesis of modern Western attitudes toward mortality"--
Subject
  • Hobbes, Thomas, 1588-1679
  • Leviathan (Hobbes, Thomas)
  • Immortality (Philosophy)
  • Political science > Philosophy
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
The desire for immortality as a political problem -- The effectual truth of Hobbes's rhetoric -- Leviathan as a scientific work of art -- The hollow religion of Leviathan -- Hell and anxiety in Hobbes's Leviathan -- War, madness and death: the paradox of honor in Hobbes's Leviathan -- Self-interest rightly understood in Behemoth: the case of General Monck -- The afterlife and immortality.
Call Number
JFE 16-12525
ISBN
  • 9781107153790
  • 1107153794
LCCN
2016028992
OCLC
954223920
Author
McClure, Christopher Scott, author.
Title
Hobbes and the artifice of eternity / Christopher Scott McClure.
Publisher
New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Copyright Date
©2016
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Research Call Number
JFE 16-12525
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