course outline

topics & readings

texts

advance reading

 

political science 404

 

Hobbes: Leviathan

 

Tuesday evenings, 6 – 9 pm.  Winter term –  2008-09

 

 

email:  Don.Carmichael@ualberta.ca

 

 

 

Course Outline

 

This course will be a seminar on Hobbes’ Leviathan based in a close reading of the text.  The whole of the text will be considered but with relatively more attention will be given to Parts I & II.  That is, in addition to topics of human nature, right and obligation (Part I) and their implications for authority, law and statesmanship (Part II), there will also be come consideration of the place of religion in politics and issues of Biblical interpretation (Part III) and the relation between religion and philosophy (Part IV).

 

Hobbes will be addressed as one of the greatest political philosophers in the Western tradition, a thinker of unsurpassed depth and clarity, and as a theorist whose ideas (while out of step with many current verities) provide a rich opportunity for critical reflection on the central issues of politics today.  That said, students will not be expected to share this estimation.  Quite the contrary, students will be encouraged to develop their own interpretations of Hobbes, and to develop their own reflections on the topics he discusses. 

 

The course will be conducted as a seminar.  Students will be expected to contribute actively in discussions, and the seminar will be organized around the presentation and discussion of student papers.  The reading in the first few weeks will be quite extensive, in order to cover some important historical and interpretive background.  After that, the readings will be less extensive, consisting just of Leviathan and selections from some of the recent commentaries. 

 

Two short seminar papers (5‑7 pp) will be required, plus a somewhat longer paper at the end of the term.  All papers should be analytical and "positional".  Brief digests (1‑2 pp) of the assigned readings will be required each week as an aid to critical reading and mastery of the text.  Each participant will be asked to open the discussion of one of the seminar papers with a brief commentary.

 

 

Essay Requirements

 

All essays should be terse, analytical, and "positional" -- arguing a definite thesis in relation to some aspect of the readings. Students are encouraged to develop their own views in these essays -- eg, by contesting a specific claim made by Aristotle, or by arguing a rival thesis on the topic, or (in certain cases) by writing a critical response to a fellow student in the seminar. The only requirement is that the essay argue a specific and explicitly stated thesis ("In this essay I will argue that... ").

As noted above, two short papers (5‑7 pp) will be required during the term, plus a somewhat longer paper (7-10 pp) at the end of the term.  One of the short papers will be distributed and discussed as a seminar paper in the class.

 

 

Grades*

 

           Essays: (3 @ equal weight)**  80%

           Commentary                              10%

           ontributions to the seminar***  10%

                                                                        ‑‑‑‑‑

                                                                        100%

 

           *   The reading digests ‑‑ which must be submitted each week before the seminar ‑‑ will be graded only as satisfactory/ unsatisfactory.   But they are a necessity and marks will be deducted from the final grade (up to two stanines) for missing digests (note again that everyone gets two weeks off, at dates of their own choosing).

 

           **  As noted above, one of the essays will be discussed in the class as a seminar paper. Students will be asked to make copies of their seminar papers available one or two days in advance, by some date/time and in a format agreed by members of the class.  It is an essential course requirement that seminar papers be available by the agreed time -- failure to do so will result in an automatic zero.

 

           *** Seminar contributions will ordinarily be evaluated by the quality of oral contributions, including questions.  Alternative forms of seminar contribution are possible, and students who are uncomfortable with speaking in the seminar are invited to explore these with me.

 

 

Texts            Hobbes,  Leviathan ‑‑ ed A.P. Martinich  (Broadview Press)  Other editions (eg Curley) may be used but only if they number paragraphs in the same way as the Martinich edition. 

 

            R. Tuck, Hobbes

 

            Bagby, Hobbes’s Leviathan

                                                                                                                

coursepack: Hobbes= Leviathan

 

 

Advance Reading

 

POS 210 (or equivalent) is a prerequisite for this course.  No other background is expected.  But for students who want to get an early start on the reading, I’d suggest Tuck,  the Wikipedia entry on The English Civil War (see readings for Jan 13), and /or Parts III-IV of Leviathan.  In addition, for students who want to develop a better sense of the historical context, two recent popular works convey a good and readable (non-academic) sense of the times: Ronan Bennett=s Havoc in Its Third Year (a novel) and Adam Nicolson=s God=s Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible.  

 

 

 

 

 

Topics And Readings

 

Please note: for all chapters in Leviathan, the corresponding section in Bagby should also be read.

Seminar essays will be circulated to the email list by Sunday at 10 pm.

Digests should include a one sentence statement of or about the seminar paper’s thesis

 

 

Jan 6:        Introduction 

 

 

Jan  13:        Human  nature  + background

26                         Leviathan, ch. 6‑9. 

12                         Johnson, AHobbes and The Wolf-Man@

 

20                         Wikipedia entry on The English Civil War at:

                                                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War

50                         Tuck, Hobbes:  Part 1

23                         Bagby, chs 1,2 4

                                                Digest: Leviathan, Johnson

                                                                                                                    seminar paper:  Kevin Hoy                         commentary: Kiosh Iselein

 

 

Jan  20:        The  natural  condition of  mankind  

30                         Leviathan, ch. 10‑13

5                                                              Aristotle, Politics, Book 1, chs 1‑3.  on line at:  http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.html

 

34                         Ashley, England in The Seventeenth Century, chs 5-6 (pp 56-90)

40                         Tuck, Hobbes:  Part 2

                                                Digest: Leviathan

                                                                                                                    seminar paper: Justin Nasseri                     commentary: Supreena Sekhon

 

 

Jan 27:  The argument reconsidered:  some interpretations   

15                         Tuck, Hobbes, Part 3 

15                         C.B. Macpherson, selections from "Introduction" (Penguin edition). 

22                         Hampton, AWhat is the Cause of Conflict in The State of Nature?@ 

                                                recommended: Kavka, AConflict in The State of Nature@ 

100                                          recommended advance reading: Leviathan  chs 32-40 + Bagby,72-90 (for Mar 17)

                                                Digest:  Macpherson, Hampton

                                                                                                                    seminar paper:  Supreena Sekhon              commentary: Justin Nasseri

 

 

note: from now on, all required readings (except Bagby) should be digested unless otherwise indicated

 

 

Feb 3:          Morality:  the right and law of nature    (reminder: essay # 1 due  B  Fri, Feb 13th )

27                         Leviathan, ch. 14‑16

19                         Carmichael,  AThe Right of Nature in Society@ 

100                                          recommended advance reading: Leviathan:  chs 41-43 + Bagby, 90-100 (for Mar 24)                                                              

                                                seminar paper: Joscelyn Armstrong                  commentary: Naomi Christensen

      

 

Feb 10:                                   Split topic: Hobbes’ method + “The world today” (1): do we need a global leviathan?

20                         Leviathan,  The Introduction, ch. 1‑5.

23                         Maltais, “The Threat of Global Warming and Demanding Global Political Duties”

47                                            recommended advance reading:  chs 44-45 + Bagby pp 100-107 (for Mar 31)

                                                seminar paper:  Simrat Minhas                   commentary: Marc Affeld

 

 

Feb 17:    reading week

 

 

Feb 24:    authority  and the covenant,                                                                                                     

59                        Leviathan, ch. 17‑23.

                                                seminar paper:  Naomi Christensen           commentary: Keegan Gibson

 

 

Mar 3:     Liberty, law,  crime, and  punishment 

54                         Leviathan, ch. 24‑28

                                                seminar paper:  Graham Frobb                   commentary: Carina Ludgate

 

 

Mar  10:  Statesmanship

26                         Leviathan, ch. 29‑30  

15                         P. Johnson, ALeviathan=s Audience@ 

                                                seminar paper:  Jackie Ambler                          commentary: Joscelyn Armstrong

 

                                                                  

Mar  17:  Part 3: the state & salvation   (reminder: essay # 2 due  B  Fri, Mar 20th )

28                       Leviathan, chs. 12, 31, 32 (for main discussion); and

100                       Leviathan, chs. 33-40

3                                                       Genesis, chs 1‑4  (The Bible) on line at:

                                                                http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/KjvGene.html

20                                                                        The Book of Job on line at

               http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/KjvBJob.html

25                                            recommended:   Martinich, AInterpretation and Hobbes=s Political Philosophy@

30                                            recommended:    Strauss,  AOn The Spirit of Hobbes= Philosophy@

                                                Digest:  chs 12, 31, 32 with a brief summary of chs 33-40

                                                                                                                    seminar paper:  Marc Affeld                      commentary: Graham Frobb

 

 

Mar  24:                                 Split topic: Part 3 cont’d  + “The world today” (2): are there global rights and duties?

100                       Leviathan, chs 41-43

                            one other reading to be distributed (probably Nussbaum)

                                                seminar paper:  Keegan Gibson                  commentary: Simrat Minhas

 

 

Mar 31:                                  Part 4: darkness and light, religion and philosophy?

70                         Leviathan, chs. 44‑47 (46-47 for main discussion). 

                                                seminar paper:  Carina Ludgate                  commentary: Jackie Ambler

 

 

April  6:   The End

5                                                                          Leviathan, "Review and Conclusion". 

5                           Aristotle, Politics, Book 1, chs 1‑3.  on line at:  http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.html

11                         Raphael, AInterpretations - II@ 

7                           Skinner, “Review Article: Hobbes’s Leviathan” 

                                                seminar papers: Jessie Larter & Kiosh Iselein           

                                                commentaries:   Kevin Hoy  & Matthew Morgan

 

 

Final Essay Due: TBA, probably Tues, Apr 14th.