Hobbes on Justice

A comprehensive analysis of Thomas Hobbes's theory of justice that newly clarifies the logic behind the philosopher's moral, legal, political, and international thought.

About the author

Johan Olsthoorn is Associate Professor in Political Theory at the University of Amsterdam. He has published extensively on Hobbes and early modern moral, legal, and political theory in journals including Philosophers' Imprint; Journal of the History of Philosophy; History of Political Thought; and European Journal of Political Theory. Co-editor of Hobbes's On the Citizen: A Critical Guide (Cambridge, 2019), this is his first monograph.

Summary

A comprehensive analysis of Thomas Hobbes's theory of justice that newly clarifies the logic behind the philosopher's moral, legal, political, and international thought.

Additional text

Hobbess theory of justice has been neglected because it has seemed so obviously to fail as an account of what justice is ordinarily taken to be. The great strength of Johan Olsthoorns analysis is that he does not seek to avoid or tone down the implications of the Hobbesian claim that the nature of justice is defined by the will of the sovereign. Instead he follows Hobbess arguments to their conclusions, and in the process brings out both the complexity and the power of Hobbess civil theodicy. This beautifully clear and always rigorous book is a landmark in Hobbes scholarship.

Product details

• Authors: Johan Olsthoorn, Johan (Associate Professor of Political Olsthoorn
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 05.12.2024
• EAN: 9780198867982
• ISBN: 978-0-19-886798-2
• No. of pages: 320
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Law > International law, foreign law; LAW / Legal History, Philosophy, PHILOSOPHY / Movements / General, Legal History, Topics in philosophy, Jurisprudence & Philosophy Of Law, Methods, theory and philosophy of law