Behemoth Teaches Leviathan: Thomas Hobbes on Political Education

(Paperback)

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Description

Did Hobbes's political philosophy have practical intentions There exists no 'Hobbist' school of thought; no new political order was inspired by Hobbesian precepts. Yet in Behemoth Teaches Leviathan Geoffrey M. Vaughan revisits Behemoth to reveal hitherto unexplored pedagogic purpose to Hobbes's political philosophy. The work demonstrates Hobbes's firm commitment to government and his attempts to create a system of political education to underpin his commitment to sovereignty. Vaughan explore Hobbes's political education in detail and in an epilogue considers the resurgence of political education in contemporary liberal theory. He discovers that contemporary political education has far more in common with Hobbes's system than it does with early liberalism.

Reviews

Recommended. * Choice Reviews *
Concise, rich, and provocative. * Seventeenth-Century News *
The author gives a comprehensive image of Hobbes' political project.... Vaughan compellingly refutes in this book many traditional interpretations of Hobbes' political projects and develops his own intriguing alternative account of Hobbes' project both skillfully and persuasively. * Political Studies Review *
This book resembles some piano performances, in which the pianist's left hand traces a conventional melody line while the right flies off in audacious arpeggios . . . . Vaughn's logic is admirably clear and well laid out. . . . It is an imaginative and thought-provoking interpretation. . . . * Perspectives on Politics *

Author Bio

Geoffrey M. Vaughan is assistant professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.