PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF THOMAS HOBBES

• Authors: Piotrowski Robert
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The construction of Hobbesian anthropology is sketched with emphasis on these points of his philosophy which seem inconclusive. We focus on: determinism, the notion of conatus/endeavour (which in turn splits into a purely mechanic kind, and a biological one), and on the duality of an-thropological description in Hobbes. In fact, the philosopher attempted to portray human beings both from inside and from outside. The 'inside' view equals to a physics of passions which are in turn rooted in biological conatus (De Corpore, Ch. IV.25.), the 'outside' view is the grim landscape of the state of nature and then the famous 'deduction' of the need of absolute power (Leviathan, Ch. XII). In fact there is no other man than the natural born egoist, as the Hobbesian citizen is simply a tamed beast.

Keywords

EN

CONATUS; DETERMINISM; MIND; PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY; PHYSICS OF PASSIONS; SENSORY PERCEPTION

Discipline

• OTHER_SOCIAL_SCIENCES: OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric
• Year: 2009
• Issue: 15(28)
• Pages: 189-197
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Piotrowski Robert

• Robert Piotrowski, University of Zielona Gora, Zielona Gora, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11PLAAAA101431