Hobbes' Leviathan: Sovereignty, Human Nature, and the State
This paper analyzes three key chapters of Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan — Chapters 17, 19, and 29 — focusing on Hobbes' secular, deflationary view of human nature and his philosophical defense of strong sovereign monarchy. The paper examines how Hobbes grounds his argument for government in the premise that human beings are driven primarily by self-preservation and physical comfort, and how this leads him to favor monarchy over assembly-based governance. It also explores his acknowledgment of monarchical weakness, the dangers of anarchy, and his distinction from divine-right theorists, situating Leviathan as a foundational text in early modern political philosophy.
- Introduction: Hobbes and the Purpose of Government: Self-preservation as the root of Hobbes' political theory
- Human Nature and the Commonwealth: Dark view of humanity and necessity of strong governance
- Hobbes on Monarchy Versus Assembly: Monarchy preferred over assembly; limits of democracy
- The Dangers of Weak Sovereignty: Weak monarchs, bad succession, and the risk of anarchy
- Hobbes' Secular Defense of Monarchy: Sovereignty as public soul; assembly extinction vs. monarchical succession
- Conclusion: Leviathan as unsentimental, secular defense of monarchy
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds every analytical claim in direct quotation from the primary source, allowing Hobbes' own language to anchor the argument rather than relying on paraphrase alone.
- It situates Hobbes in historical and intellectual context — distinguishing him from divine-right theorists and medieval political thought — without losing focus on the text itself.
- The analysis moves coherently from Hobbes' premises about human nature through to his institutional conclusions, mirroring the logical structure of the Leviathan itself.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates close reading of a philosophical primary source. Rather than summarizing plot or argument in general terms, the student extracts specific passages from Chapters 17, 19, and 29 and uses them as evidence to develop interpretive claims about Hobbes' political theory. This technique — integrating primary-source quotation with analytical commentary — is the standard method for philosophy and political theory essays at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a central quotation establishing Hobbes' view of human nature, then builds outward to his theory of the commonwealth, his comparative treatment of monarchy and assembly, the problem of weak sovereignty, and his secular philosophical method. The conclusion synthesizes these threads, characterizing Leviathan as a practical, unsentimental defense of strong government. The structure is thematic rather than chapter-by-chapter, though it follows the chapter sequence of the source text.
Introduction: Hobbes and the Purpose of Government
At the beginning of the second part of his monumental philosophical treatise on the nature of government, Leviathan, the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes stated that "the final cause, end, or design of men (who naturally love liberty, and dominion over others) in the introduction of that restraint upon themselves, in which we see them live in Commonwealths, is the foresight of their own preservation, and of a more contented life thereby" (Chapter 17). In other words, for Hobbes, self-preservation and the desire to maintain the physical self in a state of pleasure is the root of all human desire. Hobbes thus posits the essential nature of humanity and makes an argument about the institutions of government best suited to that nature, given this foundational premise.
This opening claim neatly summarizes Hobbes' view of human nature: that human beings must be governed by a strong monarch so that their innate drive to maintain the physical, animal self in the most comfortable fashion possible can be curtailed and channeled into effective social arrangements. Effectiveness, for Hobbes, is not defined by every individual exercising his or her own individual choice, but by all individuals within a state living in safety and order. He adds that for all human beings to live in such a manner, the state must be maintained and assured that its confines are not overtaken by rival powers.
Work Cited
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil. Originally published 1651. Edited with an introduction by Michael Oakeshott. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1960.
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