Subjectivity and sovereignty: The Cartesian dimension of the position of the sovereign in Hobbes' "Leviathan"

Although Hobbes' understanding of the sovereign's position in a state and Descartes' understanding of God arose completely independently from each other, there is a strong structural similarity between the two. After elaborating on this point, the author demonstrates the metaphysical...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Milidrag Predrag
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade 2004-01-01
Series:Filozofija i Društvo
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0353-5738/2004/0353-57380424231M.pdf
Description
Summary:Although Hobbes' understanding of the sovereign's position in a state and Descartes' understanding of God arose completely independently from each other, there is a strong structural similarity between the two. After elaborating on this point, the author demonstrates the metaphysical foundation of Hobbes' conception of the sovereign. The main thesis of the paper is that the subjectivity of sovereign is not the so-called 'empirical' subjectivity of early modern philosophy, but that it is equivalent to God's subjectivity, as understood in Descartes as immense power.
ISSN:0353-5738