There is little question that Hobbes's Leviathan and Behemoth are largely responding to the civil conflicts that were tearing seventeenth-century England apart, but scholars disagree in their interpretations of Hobbes's diagnosis and prescription for the civil war. Complementing previous interpretations, my MA thesis suggests that Hobbes also traces the source of the civil conflicts to Western philosophical tradition (WPT) itself both methodologically and substantially. Methodologically, ancient Western philosophers do not start their ratiocination process with definitions of the terms used, and Hobbes argues that this lack of adequate method leads to all kinds of absurdities and consequently a whole false reference world. This critique is largely based on Hobbes's materialist accounts of philosophy and mind. Substantially, Hobbes suggests that Aristotle's natural, moral and civil philosophies in particular contribute to the chaotic opinions and the civil conflicts. After detecting this source, Hobbes undertakes perhaps the most ambitious endeavor to exorcise the demon of the tradition in Western history, by radically scientizing the philosophical tradition and establishing a science of politics.

There is little question that Hobbes's Leviathan and Behemoth are largely responding to the civil conflicts that were tearing seventeenth-century England apart, but scholars disagree in their interpretations of Hobbes's diagnosis and prescription for the civil war. Complementing previous interpretations, my MA thesis suggests that Hobbes also traces the source of the civil conflicts to Western philosophical tradition (WPT) itself both methodologically and substantially. Methodologically, ancient Western philosophers do not start their ratiocination process with definitions of the terms used, and Hobbes argues that this lack of adequate method leads to all kinds of absurdities and consequently a whole false reference world. This critique is largely based on Hobbes's materialist accounts of philosophy and mind. Substantially, Hobbes suggests that Aristotle's natural, moral and civil philosophies in particular contribute to the chaotic opinions and the civil conflicts. After detecting this source, Hobbes undertakes perhaps the most ambitious endeavor to exorcise the demon of the tradition in Western history, by radically scientizing the philosophical tradition and establishing a science of politics.

There is little question that Hobbes's Leviathan and Behemoth are largely responding to the civil conflicts that were tearing seventeenth-century England apart, but scholars disagree in their interpretations of Hobbes's diagnosis and prescription for the civil war. Complementing previous interpretations, my MA thesis suggests that Hobbes also traces the source of the civil conflicts to Western philosophical tradition (WPT) itself both methodologically and substantially. Methodologically, ancient Western philosophers do not start their ratiocination process with definitions of the terms used, and Hobbes argues that this lack of adequate method leads to all kinds of absurdities and consequently a whole false reference world. This critique is largely based on Hobbes's materialist accounts of philosophy and mind. Substantially, Hobbes suggests that Aristotle's natural, moral and civil philosophies in particular contribute to the chaotic opinions and the civil conflicts. After detecting this source, Hobbes undertakes perhaps the most ambitious endeavor to exorcise the demon of the tradition in Western history, by radically scientizing the philosophical tradition and establishing a science of politics. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

O presente trabalho busca analisar a compreensão da natureza dos homens presente na história da guerra civil inglesa de Thomas Hobbes intitulada Behemoth e investigar as relações entre tal compreensão e a escrita histórica do autor. Trabalha-se com a hipótese de que a teoria da natureza humana definida e defendida por Hobbes em suas obras de filosofia política perpassa a obra em estudo em múltiplos níveis que merecem exame. Apresentam-se as definições teóricas da natureza humana estabelecidas por Hobbes no Leviathan para então examinar de que formas esta teoria informa a história no Behemoth, com especial atenção ao funcionamento das ações, paixões e opiniões e ao papel da natureza humana como causa e explicação da história. De modo a melhor compreender a associação entre história e teoria presente na obra, são examinadas também as concepções de Hobbes acerca da ciência, da experiência e da causalidade. Por fim, discutem-se as relações entre a natureza humana, os propósitos da história e as escolhas discursivas de Hobbes no Behemoth. / This study aims to analyze the ideas about men‘s nature in Behemoth, Thomas Hobbes‘ history of the English Civil War, and to inspect the connections between those ideas and the author‘s historical writing. My working hypothesis is that the theory of human nature defined and upheld by Hobbes in his works of political philosophy permeates the book under analysis in several ways that merit investigation. For comparison, I first present the theoretical definitions and explanations about human nature established by Hobbes in Leviathan and then I examine in what ways that theory influences and informs Behemoth‘s history, focusing on how actions work, the role of passions and opinions, and the use and presentation of human nature as explanation and cause in history. In order to better understand the association between history and theory at work in Behemoth, I analyze Hobbes‘ conceptions about science, experience and causality. Lastly, I discuss how human nature as presented in the book under analysis is related to Hobbes‘ idea about the purpose of history and his discursive choices in Behemoth.

O presente trabalho busca analisar a compreensão da natureza dos homens presente na história da guerra civil inglesa de Thomas Hobbes intitulada Behemoth e investigar as relações entre tal compreensão e a escrita histórica do autor. Trabalha-se com a hipótese de que a teoria da natureza humana definida e defendida por Hobbes em suas obras de filosofia política perpassa a obra em estudo em múltiplos níveis que merecem exame. Apresentam-se as definições teóricas da natureza humana estabelecidas por Hobbes no Leviathan para então examinar de que formas esta teoria informa a história no Behemoth, com especial atenção ao funcionamento das ações, paixões e opiniões e ao papel da natureza humana como causa e explicação da história. De modo a melhor compreender a associação entre história e teoria presente na obra, são examinadas também as concepções de Hobbes acerca da ciência, da experiência e da causalidade. Por fim, discutem-se as relações entre a natureza humana, os propósitos da história e as escolhas discursivas de Hobbes no Behemoth. / This study aims to analyze the ideas about men‘s nature in Behemoth, Thomas Hobbes‘ history of the English Civil War, and to inspect the connections between those ideas and the author‘s historical writing. My working hypothesis is that the theory of human nature defined and upheld by Hobbes in his works of political philosophy permeates the book under analysis in several ways that merit investigation. For comparison, I first present the theoretical definitions and explanations about human nature established by Hobbes in Leviathan and then I examine in what ways that theory influences and informs Behemoth‘s history, focusing on how actions work, the role of passions and opinions, and the use and presentation of human nature as explanation and cause in history. In order to better understand the association between history and theory at work in Behemoth, I analyze Hobbes‘ conceptions about science, experience and causality. Lastly, I discuss how human nature as presented in the book under analysis is related to Hobbes‘ idea about the purpose of history and his discursive choices in Behemoth.

O presente trabalho busca analisar a compreensão da natureza dos homens presente na história da guerra civil inglesa de Thomas Hobbes intitulada Behemoth e investigar as relações entre tal compreensão e a escrita histórica do autor. Trabalha-se com a hipótese de que a teoria da natureza humana definida e defendida por Hobbes em suas obras de filosofia política perpassa a obra em estudo em múltiplos níveis que merecem exame. Apresentam-se as definições teóricas da natureza humana estabelecidas por Hobbes no Leviathan para então examinar de que formas esta teoria informa a história no Behemoth, com especial atenção ao funcionamento das ações, paixões e opiniões e ao papel da natureza humana como causa e explicação da história. De modo a melhor compreender a associação entre história e teoria presente na obra, são examinadas também as concepções de Hobbes acerca da ciência, da experiência e da causalidade. Por fim, discutem-se as relações entre a natureza humana, os propósitos da história e as escolhas discursivas de Hobbes no Behemoth. / This study aims to analyze the ideas about men‘s nature in Behemoth, Thomas Hobbes‘ history of the English Civil War, and to inspect the connections between those ideas and the author‘s historical writing. My working hypothesis is that the theory of human nature defined and upheld by Hobbes in his works of political philosophy permeates the book under analysis in several ways that merit investigation. For comparison, I first present the theoretical definitions and explanations about human nature established by Hobbes in Leviathan and then I examine in what ways that theory influences and informs Behemoth‘s history, focusing on how actions work, the role of passions and opinions, and the use and presentation of human nature as explanation and cause in history. In order to better understand the association between history and theory at work in Behemoth, I analyze Hobbes‘ conceptions about science, experience and causality. Lastly, I discuss how human nature as presented in the book under analysis is related to Hobbes‘ idea about the purpose of history and his discursive choices in Behemoth.

Nous examinons d’abord les aspects de la souveraineté politique sur la scène shakespearienne. À la lumière des analyses consacrées par Walter Benjamin au drame baroque, en 1928, et de la réaction de Carl Schmitt dans Hamlet ou Hécube (1956), nous montrons que Shakespeare met en scène la mortalité des corps politiques et la souveraineté nouvelle de l’intrigant dans le temps terrestre. Sommé de maîtriser l’art et le tempo de l’intrigue, le Prince est néanmoins impuissant à empêcher la décomposition de l’État. En prenant appui sur le drame élisabéthain, notamment sur le vertige mélancolique et sceptique d’Hamlet, nous interrogeons alors l’effort contemporain en vue de l’ordre et de la synchronisation dans la cité. La théorie hobbesienne de la représentation politique et juridique moderne rompt avec la conception mystique de l’unité politique et toute écriture inspirée des lois, tandis que la scène civile y est dédiée à la paix du commerce entre les individus afin de garantir les conditions d’une autonomie réelle dans la sphère privée. Réciproquement, cette autonomie doit pérenniser les solutions à la mélancolie et au scepticisme conceptualisées dans Léviathan. Tout en entérinant la tragédie de l’existence humaine et de tout savoir déjà mise en scène par Shakespeare, Léviathan évite d’emblée l’exaltation schmittienne ainsi que la violence « pure » logée, selon Benjamin, dans l’état d’exception de la subjectivité. À travers les spectres qui, chez Hobbes, n’ont plus droit de cité, la scène shakespearienne défait cependant les mécanismes de l’ordre et de la synchronisation continus, cela sans congédier le droit ni le projet de l’autonomie. / First, we examine the aspects of the political sovereignty on the Shakespearean stage. In the light of Walter Benjamin’s Origin of the German baroque drama (1928) and of Carl Schmitt’s answer to Benjamin in Hamlet or Hecuba (1956), we show that Shakespeare stages the mortality of the political bodies and the new sovereignty of the plotter. Urged to master the art and the tempo of the plot, the prince is nonetheless unable to prevent the decomposition of the state. Then, drawing on the Elizabethan drama, and especially on Hamlet, we question the contemporary effort towards order and synchronization within the city. Hobbes’s theory of political and juridical representation breaks with the mystical conception of political unity and with any inspired legislation, whereas the civil scene is dedicated to the peace between individuals in order to ensure the possibility of a real autonomy in the private sphere. Reciprocally, this autonomy must consolidate the solutions to the problems of melancholy and skepticism conceptualized in Leviathan. While endorsing the tragedy of human condition and of knowledge already put on stage by Shakespeare, Leviathan prevents Schmitt’s exaltation as well as the « pure » violence which, according to Benjamin, lies in the subject’s state of exception. Yet, through the ghosts that Leviathan cannot tolerate within the public sphere, the Shakespearean stage unravels the mechanisms of perpetual order and synchronization without rejecting the law and the project of autonomy.

O trabalho procura analisar o sentido de história no Behemoth ou Longo Parlamento de Thomas Hobbes a partir das referências aos antigos. Para isso, o pensador é colocado em seu contexto social, político e cultural. Com o objetivo de perceber as redes de leitura que atravessam a obra, são contrapostos autores modernos e antigos, assim como os discursos – humanista, religioso e político - que permeiam a obra. Como um autor político, preocupado com seu tempo, o discurso da guerra e do medo iminente da volta ao estado de natureza estão presentes em sua narrativa. Entre o contingente da história e o universal da ciência civil, o uso dos antigos deve servir à paz do Estado. / The work analyzes the meaning of history in the Behemoth or the Long Parliament by Thomas Hobbes from references to the ancients. For this, the thinker is placed in its social, political and cultural. In order to understand the reading networks that permeate the work, are contrasted ancient and modern authors, as well as the speeches - humanist, religious and political - that permeate the work. As a political writer, concerned with their time, the discourse of war and fear of imminent return to the state of nature is in his narrative. Among the contingent and the universal history of civil science, the use of the ancients serve the peace of the State.

O trabalho procura analisar o sentido de história no Behemoth ou Longo Parlamento de Thomas Hobbes a partir das referências aos antigos. Para isso, o pensador é colocado em seu contexto social, político e cultural. Com o objetivo de perceber as redes de leitura que atravessam a obra, são contrapostos autores modernos e antigos, assim como os discursos – humanista, religioso e político - que permeiam a obra. Como um autor político, preocupado com seu tempo, o discurso da guerra e do medo iminente da volta ao estado de natureza estão presentes em sua narrativa. Entre o contingente da história e o universal da ciência civil, o uso dos antigos deve servir à paz do Estado. / The work analyzes the meaning of history in the Behemoth or the Long Parliament by Thomas Hobbes from references to the ancients. For this, the thinker is placed in its social, political and cultural. In order to understand the reading networks that permeate the work, are contrasted ancient and modern authors, as well as the speeches - humanist, religious and political - that permeate the work. As a political writer, concerned with their time, the discourse of war and fear of imminent return to the state of nature is in his narrative. Among the contingent and the universal history of civil science, the use of the ancients serve the peace of the State.

O trabalho procura analisar o sentido de história no Behemoth ou Longo Parlamento de Thomas Hobbes a partir das referências aos antigos. Para isso, o pensador é colocado em seu contexto social, político e cultural. Com o objetivo de perceber as redes de leitura que atravessam a obra, são contrapostos autores modernos e antigos, assim como os discursos – humanista, religioso e político - que permeiam a obra. Como um autor político, preocupado com seu tempo, o discurso da guerra e do medo iminente da volta ao estado de natureza estão presentes em sua narrativa. Entre o contingente da história e o universal da ciência civil, o uso dos antigos deve servir à paz do Estado. / The work analyzes the meaning of history in the Behemoth or the Long Parliament by Thomas Hobbes from references to the ancients. For this, the thinker is placed in its social, political and cultural. In order to understand the reading networks that permeate the work, are contrasted ancient and modern authors, as well as the speeches - humanist, religious and political - that permeate the work. As a political writer, concerned with their time, the discourse of war and fear of imminent return to the state of nature is in his narrative. Among the contingent and the universal history of civil science, the use of the ancients serve the peace of the State.