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I. Introduction
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) lived in one of the richest and most disorderly
times in the history of England, and his book Leviathan, published in 1651, is a
consequence of this period. Fully titled Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a
Commonwealth and Civil Ecclesiasticall, it clearly explains the natural-law principles,
those values that secularized ruling and its foundations, by viewing it as not exclusive
to the realm of divine, but instead as inherent to human nature itself.
The increasing confrontation
between Empiricists and Rationalists,
Catholics and Protestants, Aristocracy
and Bourgeoisie, representatives of the
spiritual and the temporal powers,
inspired this natural-law theorist to
overcome such a moment of calamity
and turmoil, by trying to find the best
form of relationship, by means of a
social contract between all community
members.
Fascinated
by
the
new
The title - Ghost in the Machine - seeks to link Hobbess ideas to the Cartesian
dualism, described by the British philosopher Gilbert Ryle: humans and civil society
regarded in a mechanistic point of view, sharing their space with soul and Catholic
Church, two strange oppressing entities trying to hold back civilization, at all cost. In
this severe struggle for power, Thomas Hobbes has no doubts about whom to assign
the decisions regarding the future of community.
he realizes that the Aristotelian method is already being questioned, in spite of having
been taught in English schools; between 1629 and 1631, he comes across with a
Geometry book by Euclid, and is amazed with his skill of argumentation and
consistency; between 1634 and 1637, Hobbes attends Natural Philosophy classes in
Paris. In addition, for some time, he was secretary to Francis Bacon.
In the autumn of 1640, when the Parliament was about to start a conflict with
the monarchic authority, Thomas Hobbes flees to Paris, where Leviathan is written and
published. This title is borrowed from The Bible, and means a sea creature extensively
described by God to Job (Job 41); the author makes use of this allegorical sea monster
to pass on the idea that the best State is the one that detains naval power, in other
words, the only way to have full authority. Therefore, Leviathan is the state system
itself, based on the secular power, and where the Church is entirely absent.
Later on someone vented the possibility that the book had been written for
Oliver Cromwell. 29 years after, in his Considerations upon the Reputation, Loyalty,
Manners and Religion, of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury [...], the author explains
that, in 1650, Cromwell was a mere General. The book was especially dedicated to
Charles II, of whom Hobbes had been tutor and who, at that time, was also on the run.
However, not only the English monarchic circle in Paris showed some spitefulness
towards the book, but also the French Catholics hated the hefty attacks on the Papacy.
At any rate, the idea of seeing Hobbess theories rejected by his
contemporaries is not very accurate. Although unpleasant for many politicians and
clergymen, his doctrine had a wide acceptance and wholeheartedness among many
intellectual circles1.
The style and form of Leviathan, consisting of 47 chapters divided into four
parts, are influenced by modern science. Nearly half the work is dedicated to a
comprehensive and polemic study on Christian ideology, and contains several
additional arguments with examples from the Bible.
Hobbes wants to be fully conscious of the meaning of every word employed in
his book, and so he explains, with full precision, the most dubious ones, in order to
pass on his ideas accurately. Hence one of his criticisms is pointed to the Church of
Rome for its methodical use of the incomprehensible Latin language in order to
approach the mysteries of religion in a more mystifying and odd way2:
The biographer Anthony Wood, in Athenae Oxoniensis (1691), refers to Leviathan as having
influenced half the nation.
At a linguistic level, this period is contemporary of Modern English, when this language is
already in a mature phase, which allows it to compete with Latin. There is a strong response of
people to the incomprehensibility of Latin words when employed in a massive way, and the
Latinisms used the inkhorn terms are seen as preciosity. The Authorized King James
The Language also, which they use, both in the Churches, and in their
Publique Acts, being Latine, which is not commonly used by any Nation now in the
world, what is it but the Ghost of the Old Romane Language? (HOBBES 1979, XLVII,
381)
Matter is, in fact, the essence of the Universe, the necessary foundation of all
research, and everything beyond the physical substance is sheer speculation. A
centuries-old tradition, reinforced by Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, neo-Platonic or
Christian theories, inter alia, considered soul a spiritual and divine essence with an
existence of its own, separated from the body and, therefore, imperishable. Refuting
such unyielding theory in the mid-17th century was still a sign of Atheism.
Rene Descartes had solved this dilemma reasonably by declaring the
existence of two genuine substances: matter and soul. In this Manicheistic dualism,
where everything is either matter or spirit, Hobbes selects the first alternative and
asserts that there is nothing left of a human being after his death. According to the
latter, soul depends on body, hence corresponding to life:
That the Soul of man is in its own nature Eternall, and a living Creature
independent on the Body; or that any meer man is Immortall, otherwise than by the
Resurrection in the last day, (except Enos and Elias,) is a doctrine not apparent in
Scripture. (HOBBES 1979, XXXVIII, 243)
Version of The Holy Bible (1611) marks the assertion of English as the official language and
the decline of Latin as a scholarly language.
Following the Epicurean philosophy, Hobbes also sees the entire Universe
corporeal and made of material entities in an endless motion1. According to Karl Marx,
the English theorist systematizes Bacons materialism, since, in his mind, there are no
incorporeal substances; therefore, it is unreasonable to assert that the thoughts
produced from matter will become self-sufficient.
From the ideas expressed in Leviathan, we realize how the author supports
the new scientific knowledge, namely experimental observation and its conversion into
mathematical relations. Natural science is only possible by reducing natural processes
to mathematical relations, through its quantification. This is what Hobbes tries to
measure in the whole universe, overlooking everything from the transcendental and
immaterial sphere:
The World, (I mean not the Earth onely, that denominates the Lovers of it
Worldly Men, but the Universe, that is, the whole masse of all things that are) is
Corporeall, that is to say, Body; and hath the dimensions of Magnitude, namely,
Length, Bredth, and Depth: also every part of Body, is likewise Body, and hath the like
dimensions; and consequently every part of the Universe, [...]. (HOBBES 1979, XLVI,
367)
If soul is something unfindable and fully static, matter and body issue is what
truly matters to Hobbes. Akin to the new science, the author believes in the idea of
motion by stating that the structure of a human body is in constant mutation. In other
words, originated in Aristotle, life itself is nothing but matter in perpetual motion.
Before cyclical phenomena of nature, fear disappears since its whole mystery
is explained:
[...] whatsoever accidents or qualities our senses make us think there be in
the world, they be not there, but are seeming and apparitions only: the things that
really are in the world without us, are those motions by which these seemings are
caused. (HOBBES 1966, 8)
The motion of external bodies is responsible for the direct or indirect action
exerted on the human organs of perception. Thus sensorial perception is nothing but
matter in motion.
In so far as Hobbes seeks to understand and explain everything around him
by using a scientific terminology, we may consider him a forebear of modern
Positivism. Such is the case of his description of the human body, in the introduction to
Leviathan, as if it were a quite intricate machine - a bold interpretation for this period in
that it seeks to nearly remove the presence of the soul: For what is the Heart, but a
Spring; and the Nerves, but so many Strings; and the Joynts, but so many Wheeles,
giving motion to the whole Body, such as was intended by the Artificer?
1
th
Giordano Bruno, in the late 16 century, had defended already the idea that matter is
understood as an automotive and independent principle. According to this scientist, shape
cannot exist outside matter, and vice versa. Matter is born from matter, in an endless
recreation of new and varied forms.
of nature, where men felt the right to possess all things. Under these conditions, men
could not live in any politically organized society. By viewing any other man as a likely
enemy, ones tendency was to use the sense of self-preservation. In the state of
nature, in a full denial of civilization, no man is required to abide by any contract.
According to a Thomas Hobbess famous expression, freedom is the silence
of the laws. In fact, in a state of liberty everyone is free to satisfy his cravings since no
one is subjected to social rules. As mentioned above, the author rejects the traditional
Aristotelian theory, which regards man as a political animal, and the natural relations
between men as peaceful and gregarious, war and conflicts being just a hiatus of these
normal conditions. In contrast, Hobbes argues that the natural tendency of man is to
live in a perpetual state of insecurity and fear, if he lacks protection from a powerful
sovereign or government.
Civil peace being an essential good, one should try to find (and keep) it at all
costs, in order to guarantee the balance of society. Hence, in Leviathan we find the
golden rule, taken from the Gospels principles, which had in view the same end: Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you.
In the 16th century, Europe had been involved, much of the time, in bloody
wars on behalf of religion. People died in the name of truth; however, according to
Hobbes, whatever the truth may be, life in society can only exist if and when everyone
acknowledges the desire of peace as the only thing that brings men together.
The Hobbesian doctrine stands upon the idea that life is desire, truth is power,
and speech is contract. If we have a simple and perpetual pleasure in the desire that
leads us to action, if full happiness in life lies in the power to accomplish that pleasure,
and if it is not possible for a human being to coexist with another human being without
a mutual resignation of powers, then the entire relationship among men must be
conceived, certainly, in terms of desire, power and contract.
Thomas Hobbes wishes to bring peace to England. According to his words,
human society starts with natural law and ends in civil law, the utmost form of
coexistence. This is a tough path that begins in a primal and insecure state of nature,
and ends in a civilized and peaceful society, governed by a supreme authority, which
was settled by common agreement.
In the 17th century, the concept of the individual becomes increasingly
important. However, the idea of freedom, mostly understood in a social sense, instead
of a theological one, will be the first value arising from the dawn of liberalism, and will
also help each one achieve other natural rights such as life, personal fulfilment or
property. All these concepts and values are inherent to the social contract.
The unlimited power of the state includes religious, moral and social aspects,
since the ruler of Christianity is the legitimate representative of God on Earth, and is
conscientiously bound to the laws of nature, hence taking the duty to satisfy his people
through peacekeeping.
For Hobbes, political duty is a moral obligation imposed by divine will, resulting
thus the mutual respect of the Contracting Parties. Therefore it is not surprising that
there is such a strong and significant insistence on keywords like judge, law,
1
In the first edition, Leviathans frontispiece shows an immense crowd shaping the body of their
Sovereign, for it is he who, by enforcing the law, provides unity and peace to community.
The apparent reason for this premise can be found in the social contract
theory: if man is the creator of a State free from divine interference, then it is natural for
him to claim for total emancipation of politics and its separation from the religion field.
Hobbes criticizes those who think that state security relies upon the Church and the
clergy. In fact, the clergy is not crucial, in any way, to the existence of the state and the
community; on the contrary, the security of the Church depends both on the national
security and the sovereign power.
The Dictatus Papae was the most authoritarian reform of the ecclesiastical and feudal society.
This bull stated that, for instance, the Roman Church had a sacred origin, having been
founded directly by Christ - therefore being infallible; only the Roman Catholic Pontiff is
universal; and the Pope is the only man who can be kissed in the foot, which means that his
power is above the princes and may overthrow the Emperor.
a) A denied reality
For Plato, the existence of gods is something beyond any doubt; the Greek
philosopher, in his Laws, states that all mankind, including Greeks and non-Greeks,
believe in gods. Later, the 3rd century Christian apologist, Lactantius, declares in
Institutorum that "Argumentum" is "consensu Gentium"; in other words, a great number
of nations and peoples share the universal consensus on the existence of God.
However, doubts on this subject always remained in ones mind. Throughout
the centuries, depending on the current freedom of speech, they were expressed in
greater or lesser intensity and straightforwardness. In 16th century England, too many
religious confrontations were among the main causes for the growth of Atheism and
disbelief, which caused a major source of social unrest: on the one hand, the clash
between Catholics and Protestants; on the other hand, conflicts among various
religious sects, arisen from dissent. All these struggles for the monopoly of truth only
contributed for the people to acknowledge that, after all, truth did not belong exclusively
to any of the conflicting parties1.
These religious controversies are not the sole contributors for the growing of
Atheism. From the late Middle Ages throughout the Renaissance, in addition,
philosophy in increasingly showing secular signs of irreligiousness, while Art and
Science converge their attention to planet Earth and become more devoted to human
nature: by conveying the idea that God is not everything and Man is beyond what was
believed, the anthropocentric system began to rid the world of a sacred context to
which it has always been bound2.
Towards the end of the 17th century, in the Essay Concerning Human
Understanding, John Locke declares that, given the existence of Atheists, who had
already spread their thoughts in previous centuries, the idea of God cannot be
universal, therefore inborn. Until the 19th century, there was a staunch refusal to
acknowledge the existence of Atheists, as quoted in the Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Many people, both ancient and modern, have pretended to atheism, or have
been reckoned atheists by the world; but it is justly questioned whether any man
Attesting this idea there are the countless testimonies of authors such as the one by Thomas
Nashe; in his book Pierce Penniless (1592), he refers to religious controversy as the main
reason for the growing disbelief. Hooker, another British author of the same period, also
realizes that this fact fostered the increasing number of Atheists in his country, and exposes
this same idea in Laws of Ecclesiastical Politie. Finally, Francis Bacon, in his essay On
Atheism (1597), also considers this issue as one of the true causes of Atheism.
At a certain point, Renaissance humanism was eventually seen by Catholic Church as a sort
of a covert Atheism and therefore incompatible with Christian doctrine.
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growing disbelief. In the Restoration period, the rush of atheism and disbelief is
eventually controlled by the implementation of two Acts of Parliament. In the first draft,
from January 31, 1666-7, the denial of God becomes almost a crime; in the second
draft is from January 29, 1677-8, denying God is already considered a criminal activity,
which gives the impression that Atheism would be a greater menace at this stage:
If any person, being of the age of 16 years or more not being visibly and
apparently distracted out of his wits by sickness or natural infirmity, or not a mere
natural fool, void of common sense, shall, after the day whereon the Royal Assent
shall be given to, by word or writing deny that there is a God... [that person] shall be
committed to prison. (in BERMAN 1988, 49)
Most likely, this would be the reason (fear of the consequences of a radical
opinion that he might sooner or later defend) why Hobbes, throughout his life, denied
also the existence of Atheists. In 1658, John Bramhall, Bishop of Derry, publishes The
Catching of Leviathan, where he accuses him of atheism, blasphemy and subversion of
religion, among other charges, in regard to a where he states that superstition stems
from fear without reason, and atheism from reason without fear. Some years later,
Leviathans author refutes these accusations, by emphasizing that both atheist and the
superstitious are deprived of reason (which is nonetheless inconsistent with what he
had previously uttered); furthermore, since the atheist sees himself as the most rational
one, Hobbes considers him the most irrational of both. For this author, Atheism is a
pure sin of ignorance derived from false and audacious reasoning; thus, one of the
biggest offences that could be made to him would be the blame of Atheism.
At any rate, Hobbess political philosophy strengthened the major pillars of
Atheism in the Restoration period, and contributed to the increase of disbelief. Daniel
Scargill is one of those witnesses, as can be seen in his work Recantation... publickly
made before the University of Cambridge, presented on 25th July 1669, where he
declares the actual existence of Hobbesists, the author himself being one of them1.
In 1680, eight months after Hobbess death, Chaplain Robert Parsons
preaches a sermon at the funeral of the poet John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, alluding
to the way an absurd and foolish Philosophy, which the world so much admired,
propagated by the late Mr. Hobbes [sic], and others, had undone him, and many more
of the best parts of the Nation. (in BERMAN 1988, 53)
In 1693, Richard Sault admits that his own atheistic ideas have been
influenced by reading Spinoza and Leviathan; in The Deist's Manual (1705), Charles
Gildon also declares the existence of Hobbesists, whose system is the speculative
Atheism.
1
According to the American historian James Axtell, Daniel Scargill is very likely to have been
influenced by Hobbes, not through his scarce and expensive books, but by texts of authors
who criticized him negatively.
12
What Hobbes really thought about God, nobody will ever find out. However,
throughout his written work, which is what truly matters, we never find any trace of
Atheism; on the contrary, neither the existence of God is denied, nor is God excluded
from his rational system.
Hobbes tries to attach more importance to human being and to his own
decisions, by presenting him as a driving force of history, and not merely as a subject
of the eternal predestination that attested the immutable law of God. In Leviathan, he
demonstrates that, by common agreement, all citizens can enter into a social contract
that makes them evolve from a savage condition to an organized community. In spite of
being considered a materialist, it can be inferred, from this book content, that the
author believed in the existence of God: For not only Christians, but all manner of
men do so believe in God [...]. (HOBBES 1979, VII, 32).
Hobbess philosophy is recurrently close to Spinozas. However, the idea of
God is one of their disagreements: for Spinoza, God is not the transcendent cause, but
the immanent cause of all things instead, Nature being His manifestation. In this
identification with Nature Deus sive Natura (Ethics IV), God is expanded in the
endless and eternal space of Nature.
For Hobbes, God is a part of the universe, and controls its full motion with
consistency. By resuming Aristotles naturalist thought, he shares the idea that God
operates as a driving force of the Universe.
According to Hobbes, there is another peculiarity in man: his curiosity to
discover the causes of things and the reasons for good or bad luck; as he states in The
elements of Law (1640): Nothing can move itself. However, if the universe consists
of a specified quantity of matter, there had to be someone or something that would set
all this matter in motion, thus creating the world and the living creatures. Hence the
notion of the First and Eternal Cause, which is God:
Curiosity, or love of the knowledge of causes, draws a man from
consideration of the effect, to seek the cause; and again, the cause of that cause; till
of necessity he must come to this thought at last, that there is some cause, whereof
there is no former cause, but is eternall; which is it men call God. (HOBBES 1979, XI,
53).
[...] a First, and an Eternall cause of all things; which is that which men mean
by the name of God: [...] (HOBBES 1979, XII, 55).
Given so many questions and doubts about the universe, God is the limit of
the short human knowledge, the holder of all power, therefore, of absolute law.
13
After certain threats that have been made to Hobbes about the theory that he advocated, and
though he had passed his last years under the protection of Charles II, he uttered this
sentence at the end of his life: Fear and I were born twins.
14
Also the Religion of the Church of Rome, was partly, for the same cause
abolished in England, and many other parts of Christendome; insomuch, as the fayling
of Vertue in the Pastors, maketh Faith faile in the People: and partly from bringing of
the Philosophy, and doctrine of Aristotle into Religion, by the Schoole-men; from
whence there arose so many contradictions, and absurdities, as brought the Clergy
into a reputation both of Ignorance, and of Fraudulent intention; and enclined people
to revolt from them, either against the will of their own Princes, as in France, and
Holland; or with their will, as in England. (HOBBES 1979, XII, 62)
His major challenge is made to the Pope and to the way he seized power by
means of the greatest injustices and cruelties, in order to enforce an erroneous
doctrine and, thus opposing the decisions made by the temporal sovereignty. From this
viewpoint, the peril never comes from God, but from all those who are assumed as His
representatives on Earth, capable of doing miracles and possessing inspiration or
direct revelation.
Throughout Leviathans pages, Thomas Hobbes criticizes some Roman
doctrine precepts: he opposes the idea of a Heavenly Paradise after death, by
questioning the immortality of the soul, due to its reliance both on a corporeal space
and on the everlasting torments in Hell; he criticizes the idol worship, a ceremony
inherited from heathenism1; he is totally opposed to the compulsory celibacy of priests,
a rule imposed by the bull Dictatus papae (1075), and considers such a law unnatural
and a huge error of Roman moral philosophy; he questions the authorship of some
Bible books and presents his arguments with a logical structure.
For Hobbes, all these erroneous approaches stem from a misinterpretation of
the Gospels, and from the way metaphors are processed into absolute realities. By the
aforementioned examples, we can perceive that the Leviathans God is fairly close to
the Deist God, since this deity does not demand the Revelation or the Catholic Church
as intermediary of his divine wisdom.
Conclusions
The 17th century, like the previous one, is marked by a struggle for power that
can be summed up to a conflict between religion and science, each of them striving to
define its own area of action by the available means: science, extremely useful to
economic and social development; religion, much important for the required political
The criticism of idolatry is specifically mentioned in the Old Testament, according to the
commandment of God passed unto Moses on Mount Sinai: Ye shall make you no idols nor
graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of
stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus, 26.1).
15
stability. Galileo, a convinced Christian, thinks that there must be a perfect equity in the
debate between science and faith, each having its own space: science, free to
investigate its own subject matter; and faith, dedicated to theological issues and
without any influence on the opponent field1.
Eventually, in the course of time, science is a crucial feature for the
reconversion of religion. Thomas Hobbess suspicions towards traditional religion
derive mainly from both its objectionable and dubious origin and its consequent
exploitation by unscrupulous leaders and priests, for political purposes. Leviathans
author stresses the idea that the gods were created from mens fear before the forces
of nature, and prevailed thanks to ignorance and superstition. This is how religion
becomes a powerful tool of government, where its practical use is, essentially, the
maintenance of order2.
Hobbes stands for a religion assisted by reason and logic, no longer based on
superstitions and creeds, and where it is possible to distinguish the false gods, born of
fear, from the true God, the appropriate postulate of science. Only using instruments of
reason in language thought, it is possible to research and decode the causes of the
natural world, within his own limits, in order to achieve justice, peace and true religion.
On this the basis of scientific thought, Hobbes is driven to fight against the doctrine
imposed by Rome, for the rationalist debugging of a religion settled on orthodox values,
throughout the centuries.
The last lines of Leviathan are not only an encomium to Henry VIII and
Elizabeth I, to the way these kings fought the Roman power and kept determined in
their dissolution, but also an admonition to the continuous menace from the evil spirit of
Rome which, at any moment, can return to the heart of the English community. The
first covenant was made between God and his chosen people directly, through the
establishment of divine laws accepted by the Jews, without the intervention of any
sovereign power presenting itself as an intermediary or a representative of those laws.
This is indisputably a fine example to follow today and in future, for the benefit
of all freethinking communities.
th
In the 5 century, Aristotle distinction between the theologi, who had a mythological
perspective of the world, and the phisiologi, who began to interpret every phenomenon
around them by studying the natural forces.
In ancient Rome, ceremonies, feasts and games performed in honor of gods had chiefly the
function of preventing the rebellion of the people against the State.
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