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In Freedom as Motion, Leslie Dale Feldman explores the American concepts of freedom, individualism, and liberal culture and how they are closely tied to Thomas Hobbes' notion of free movement. In chapter XXI of Leviathan, Hobbes describes freedom as 'the absence of opposition' to motion. This idea of freedom as motion has flourished in America where the emphasis on individualism is greatest. Feldman explores the evolution of this concept through Western and American history, and also the theoretical connection that exists in reality at the level of simple daily life. Hobbes' theory of freedom as motion becomes the central metaphor of liberalism and forms the basis for the American conception of freedom today. This book will prove thought-provoking to students of Western and American Political Theory, as well as students of American History and Culture.
List of contents
Chapter 1 Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction Part 2 Hobbes and Motion Chapter 3 Motion and Man Chapter 4 Liberalism and Movement Chapter 5 Hobbes and Liberalism Part 6 A Brief History of the Idea of Movement Chapter 7 Motion to the Ancients Chapter 8 Being vs. Becoming: Being Chapter 9 Galileo and the Church: Cosmology and Planetary Motion Chapter 10 The Middle Ages Part 11 Movement and America: The Hobbesian Legacy Chapter 12 Physical Movement Chapter 13 Vertical Movement: Social Mobility Chapter 14 Freedom as Motion Part 15 Alternatives to Hobbesian Motion Chapter 16 Communism Chapter 17 Movement of History Chapter 18 Collective Movement Chapter 19 Fascism Chapter 20 Movement of Nature Chapter 21 Triumph of the Will Chapter 22 Conclusion; Selected Bibliography; Index
About the author
By Leslie Dale Feldman
