[Hill03]

I suppose this would have fit better under the second part of this course, but since that is still forthcoming, this forum is the best fit. This a very particular question. I’m understanding most everything, but there are still some places that are difficult to understand fully. The sentence in question is in Chapter 13:
”

And from this diffidence of one another, there is no way for any man to secure himself, so reasonable, as anticipation; that is, by force, or wiles, to master the persons of all men he can, so long, till he see no other power great enough to endanger him: and this is no more than his own conservation requireth, and is generally allowed.

”
I think I understand the overall point of the sentence – that one has to conquer everyone that could harm him before he can feel comfortable. But I think the particular phrase “so reasonable, as anticipation” is where I’m getting thrown off. … I’m trying to teach this to highschoolers, so I’d like to understand every detail.

[gerard.casey]

Dear eljarrodo,

I think that what Hobbes means here is simply to get your retaliation in first! The best way to overcome your fear of others is by a preemptive strike, either physical or by some other cunning method.

I’d be interested to hear what your highschoolers make of all this.

I’ve just completed the second part of the course and it’s on its way to Dr Woods. I expect he’ll make it available in the very near future. Here’s a list of topics (2 on Hobbes):

Best wishes,

Gerard Casey

List of Recordings

00 Introduction

The Huguenots
01 Huguenot Political Theory

Jean Bodin, Apostle of Sovereignty
02 Sovereignty and State
03 Freedom, Property and the Right to Resist

The Road Not Taken: Johannes Althusius
04 Consociation
05 City, Realm and Sovereignty

Hugo Grotius
06 War, Contract, and Law
07 Certainty, ius naturale, ius gentium, Sovereignty

Fear, Desire and Hope: Thomas Hobbes
08 Method, Man and Nature
09 Personation, the Sovereign and his powers

The English Revolution
10 The Levellers
11 The Diggers
12 Harrington and Filmer

John Locke
13 Man, Nature, Freedom, Property
14 Ownership of Self and Things
15 Cecile Fabre, Politics
16 Government and Consent

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
17 The Discourses
18 The Social Contract, Freedom

Politics Naturalised: David Hume
19 Human Nature, Convention of Justice and Property
20 Property, Justice, Government, Contract
21 Contract, Resistance

Edmund Burke
22 The Vindication of Natural Society
23 Society
24 Defender of Liberty?

Conservatism and Libertarianism
25 Change, Tradition, Society
26 Freedom, Authority and Tradition

John Stuart Mill
27 Liberty, Utilitarianism
28 One very simple principle?
29 Representative Government

Back to the Future: Karl Marx
30 Introduction
31 Alienation and Exploitation
32 Exploitation again
33 Class Struggle, State

The Anarchist Prophets
34 What is Anarchism?
35 William Godwin
36 Godwin on Property, Max Stirner

The Classical Anarchists
37 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
38 Michael Bakunin
39 Peter Kropotkin—State and Society
40 Peter Kropotkin—All things for all; Anarcho-syndicalism

The Anglophone Anarchists
41 Josiah Warren
42 Lysander Spooner
43 Benjamin Tucker
44 Auberon Herbert

Twentieth Century Tribalism: Fascism, National Socialism and Bolshevism
45 Collectivism and Irrationality
46 Transcendence
47 The American Experience, Totalitarianism, Corporatism
48 Anti-Semitism, Fascism—Left or Right?

War and the State
49 War and Human Nature
50 Types of State, Costs of War
51 The American Experience
52 War and the Totalitarian State

The Twentieth Century
53 Ayn Rand
54 Friedrich Hayek
55 Robert Nozick
56 Murray Rothbard
57 John Rawls

58 Conclusion

[Hill03]

Wow that looks incredibly comprehensive, although I’m sure you had things which you had to leave out. My seniors actually caught on pretty well to Hobbes; although, if not for my paraphrasing comments to the side, I’m not sure how well they would have followed it. But he has a pretty common-sense-take on human nature that I think most people would agree with at first.

[gerard.casey]

I hope your students realise how lucky they are to have someone like you to introduce them to one of the classics of western political philosophy. Hobbes’s 17th century English can take a little getting used to, plus his use of some quasi-technical terms, but after that, it’s more or less plain sailing.

Best wishes,

GC

[Author]

Posts