Leviathan's Shadow: The 17th Century Philosophical Responses to Hobbesian Political Theory

When Thomas Hobbes published his masterpiece Leviathan in 1651, he unleashed one of the most explosive and controversial political theories ever written. In the tumultuous aftermath of the English Civil War, Hobbes dared to suggest that humans were naturally selfish creatures who required an all-powerful sovereign to prevent society from collapsing into a "war of all against all." His materialist philosophy shocked contemporaries, while his vision of absolute sovereignty threatened traditional conceptions of both church and state. Leviathan's Shadow offers the first comprehensive account of how Hobbes's revolutionary ideas were received, contested, and transformed by his contemporaries during the latter half of the seventeenth century. Drawing on rich primary sources, this gripping intellectual history reveals how thinkers across Europe-from Anglican bishops to Catholic theologians, from Cambridge Platonists to Dutch republicans-grappled with Hobbes's radical vision and developed their own compelling alternatives. Meet John Bramhall, the exiled bishop who condemned Hobbes as the "Monster of Malmesbury," and Robert Filmer, who countered with divine right patriarchalism. Witness the Oxford experimentalists, led by Robert Boyle, who rejected Hobbes's deductive approach to science in favor of collective experimentation. Follow the radical philosopher Spinoza, who transformed Hobbesian ideas into a startling defense of democracy. Discover how Pierre Nicole and the French Jansenists found in Hobbes's psychology of self-interest surprising support for their Augustinian theology. From the royal courts to underground philosophical societies, from university debates to clandestine manuscripts, Leviathan's Shadow traces how engagement with Hobbes shaped the modern world-even among those who most vehemently rejected him. This riveting account illuminates not only Hobbes's enduring significance but also the birth pangs of modern political thought as it emerged from the intellectual ferment of the seventeenth century. Essential reading for anyone interested in the origins of liberalism, the relationship between religion and politics, or the philosophical foundations of modernity, Leviathan's Shadow brings to life the passionate debates that defined an era and continue to resonate today. In our age of political polarization, resurgent authoritarianism, and contested truth, Hobbes's questions-about human nature, political obligation, and the limits of power-have never been more relevant.