How well do you know Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan?

Summary of "Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes

• Hobbes argues that just as nature creates living organisms, humans create artificial beings, such as states, which are like artificial versions of humans with a sovereign as the artificial soul.

• The components of a state are like the components of a human body, with the magistrates and officers of justice acting as artificial joints, reward and punishment as nerves, and the wealth of the members as the strength.

• The pacts and covenants that establish a state are like the fiat of God in creating humans, and the preservation and dissolution of a state depend on its sovereign and its authority.

• Hobbes believes that wisdom is gained not just from reading books, but from understanding oneself and how one's thoughts and passions relate to others.

• Sense, or the perception of an object through the senses, is the origin of all thought and is caused by the external body or object pressing on the organs of sense.

• Imagination is the decay of sense and is found in both waking and sleeping creatures, and memory is the retention of past sense impressions.

• Experience is the memory of many things, and simple imagination is the imagining of the whole object as it was presented to the senses.

• The schools teach that objects send out visible, audible, or intelligible species that are received by the senses, but Hobbes argues that this is absurd and that sense is just an original fancy caused by the motion of external objects on the organs of sense.

• Hobbes also argues that motion is eternal and that objects in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by another force.

• He believes that the human mind is like a machine, with thoughts and passions caused by external forces acting on the senses and the imagination, and that reason is just the calculation of the consequences of actions.

• Hobbes also argues that humans are equal in their ability to kill one another and that the state of nature is a state of war, with every person against every other person.

• To escape this state of war, humans must establish a sovereign with absolute power, which will ensure peace and order by enforcing the laws and punishing those who break them.Imagination, Dreams, and Apparitions

• Imagination is the ability to form mental images of things that are not present in reality.

• Imagination can be simple or compound, and it can also be caused by the impression made on the senses.

• Dreams are the imaginations that occur during sleep and are caused by the agitation of the body's inward parts.

• Dreams can be hard to distinguish from waking thoughts, but they are usually less coherent and often absurd.

• Different bodily distempers can cause different dreams, such as fear or anger.

• Apparitions or visions are the most difficult to distinguish from waking thoughts, especially when a person is full of fearful thoughts or troubled conscience.

• Marcus Brutes' vision before the battle of Augustus Caesar was likely a short dream caused by his fear and troubled state of mind.

• Fear and superstition can cause people to believe in ghosts, fairies, and witches, which were the basis of ancient religions and still exist in some beliefs today.

• The belief in supernatural phenomena can be used to manipulate people and maintain the power of religious institutions.

• It is not necessary to fear supernatural events as they are not more common than the changing of nature's course.

• The wise should only believe in things that appear credible based on reason and evidence.

• The education system should eliminate superstitions and false beliefs to prepare people for civil obedience.

Summary of "Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes

• Hobbes argues that just as nature creates living organisms, humans create artificial beings, such as states, which are like artificial versions of humans with a sovereign as the artificial soul.

• The components of a state are like the components of a human body, with the magistrates and officers of justice acting as artificial joints, reward and punishment as nerves, and the wealth of the members as the strength.

• The pacts and covenants that establish a state are like the fiat of God in creating humans, and the preservation and dissolution of a state depend on its sovereign and its authority.

• Hobbes believes that wisdom is gained not just from reading books, but from understanding oneself and how one's thoughts and passions relate to others.

• Sense, or the perception of an object through the senses, is the origin of all thought and is caused by the external body or object pressing on the organs of sense.

• Imagination is the decay of sense and is found in both waking and sleeping creatures, and memory is the retention of past sense impressions.

• Experience is the memory of many things, and simple imagination is the imagining of the whole object as it was presented to the senses.

• The schools teach that objects send out visible, audible, or intelligible species that are received by the senses, but Hobbes argues that this is absurd and that sense is just an original fancy caused by the motion of external objects on the organs of sense.

• Hobbes also argues that motion is eternal and that objects in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by another force.

• He believes that the human mind is like a machine, with thoughts and passions caused by external forces acting on the senses and the imagination, and that reason is just the calculation of the consequences of actions.

• Hobbes also argues that humans are equal in their ability to kill one another and that the state of nature is a state of war, with every person against every other person.

• To escape this state of war, humans must establish a sovereign with absolute power, which will ensure peace and order by enforcing the laws and punishing those who break them.Imagination, Dreams, and Apparitions

• Imagination is the ability to form mental images of things that are not present in reality.

• Imagination can be simple or compound, and it can also be caused by the impression made on the senses.

• Dreams are the imaginations that occur during sleep and are caused by the agitation of the body's inward parts.

• Dreams can be hard to distinguish from waking thoughts, but they are usually less coherent and often absurd.

• Different bodily distempers can cause different dreams, such as fear or anger.

• Apparitions or visions are the most difficult to distinguish from waking thoughts, especially when a person is full of fearful thoughts or troubled conscience.

• Marcus Brutes' vision before the battle of Augustus Caesar was likely a short dream caused by his fear and troubled state of mind.

• Fear and superstition can cause people to believe in ghosts, fairies, and witches, which were the basis of ancient religions and still exist in some beliefs today.

• The belief in supernatural phenomena can be used to manipulate people and maintain the power of religious institutions.

• It is not necessary to fear supernatural events as they are not more common than the changing of nature's course.

• The wise should only believe in things that appear credible based on reason and evidence.

• The education system should eliminate superstitions and false beliefs to prepare people for civil obedience.

Summary of "Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes

• Hobbes argues that just as nature creates living organisms, humans create artificial beings, such as states, which are like artificial versions of humans with a sovereign as the artificial soul.

• The components of a state are like the components of a human body, with the magistrates and officers of justice acting as artificial joints, reward and punishment as nerves, and the wealth of the members as the strength.

• The pacts and covenants that establish a state are like the fiat of God in creating humans, and the preservation and dissolution of a state depend on its sovereign and its authority.

• Hobbes believes that wisdom is gained not just from reading books, but from understanding oneself and how one's thoughts and passions relate to others.

• Sense, or the perception of an object through the senses, is the origin of all thought and is caused by the external body or object pressing on the organs of sense.

• Imagination is the decay of sense and is found in both waking and sleeping creatures, and memory is the retention of past sense impressions.

• Experience is the memory of many things, and simple imagination is the imagining of the whole object as it was presented to the senses.

• The schools teach that objects send out visible, audible, or intelligible species that are received by the senses, but Hobbes argues that this is absurd and that sense is just an original fancy caused by the motion of external objects on the organs of sense.

• Hobbes also argues that motion is eternal and that objects in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by another force.

• He believes that the human mind is like a machine, with thoughts and passions caused by external forces acting on the senses and the imagination, and that reason is just the calculation of the consequences of actions.

• Hobbes also argues that humans are equal in their ability to kill one another and that the state of nature is a state of war, with every person against every other person.

• To escape this state of war, humans must establish a sovereign with absolute power, which will ensure peace and order by enforcing the laws and punishing those who break them.Imagination, Dreams, and Apparitions

• Imagination is the ability to form mental images of things that are not present in reality.

• Imagination can be simple or compound, and it can also be caused by the impression made on the senses.

• Dreams are the imaginations that occur during sleep and are caused by the agitation of the body's inward parts.

• Dreams can be hard to distinguish from waking thoughts, but they are usually less coherent and often absurd.

• Different bodily distempers can cause different dreams, such as fear or anger.

• Apparitions or visions are the most difficult to distinguish from waking thoughts, especially when a person is full of fearful thoughts or troubled conscience.

• Marcus Brutes' vision before the battle of Augustus Caesar was likely a short dream caused by his fear and troubled state of mind.

• Fear and superstition can cause people to believe in ghosts, fairies, and witches, which were the basis of ancient religions and still exist in some beliefs today.

• The belief in supernatural phenomena can be used to manipulate people and maintain the power of religious institutions.

• It is not necessary to fear supernatural events as they are not more common than the changing of nature's course.

• The wise should only believe in things that appear credible based on reason and evidence.

• The education system should eliminate superstitions and false beliefs to prepare people for civil obedience.