Power and Potentia in Hobbes. The Mechanistic Perspective between Natural and Political Philosophy

Through the elaboration of his political philosophy, Hobbes wishes to present himself as a representative of the new mechanistic and deterministic science of the seventeenth century, by applying Galilei’s method in politics and by refusing the Aristotelian metaphysics and natural philosophy as well....

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Carlo Altini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Bologna 2019-07-01
Series:Scienza & Politica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scienzaepolitica.unibo.it/article/view/9607
Description
Summary:Through the elaboration of his political philosophy, Hobbes wishes to present himself as a representative of the new mechanistic and deterministic science of the seventeenth century, by applying Galilei’s method in politics and by refusing the Aristotelian metaphysics and natural philosophy as well. The aim of the present article is to challenge this claim. As a matter of fact, Hobbes’s thought seems to be characterised by an original co-existence of decisionism and mechanism and his view of the natural law does not appear to be based on deterministic principles, but on a voluntarist and moral character condensed in his theory of passions.
ISSN:1590-4946
1825-9618