Hobbes's Political Philosophy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.P. Martinich
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Literal Meaning ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
New Science ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Apparent Conflict

Hobbes’s Political Philosophy: Interpretation and Interpretations extends a position first explained in The Two Gods of Leviathan (1992). Hobbes presented what he believed would be a science of politics, a set of timeless truths grounded in definitions. In chapters on the laws of nature, authorization and representation, sovereignty by acquisition, and others, the author explains this science of politics. In addition to the timeless science, Hobbes had two timebound projects: (1) to eliminate the apparent conflict between the new science of Copernicus and Galileo and traditional Christian doctrine, and (2) to show that Christianity, correctly understood, is not politically destabilizing. The strategy for accomplishing (1) was to distinguish science from religion and to understand Christianity as essentially belief in the literal meaning of the Bible. The strategy for accomplishing (2) was to appeal to biblical teachings such as “Servants, obey your masters,” and “All authority comes from God.” Criticisms of the author’s interpretations are the occasion for (a) fleshing out Hobbes’s historical context and (b) describing the nature of interpretation in dialogue with opposing interpretations by scholars such as Jeffrey Collins, Edwin Curley, John Deigh, and Quentin Skinner. Interpretation is updating one’s network of beliefs in order to re-establish an equilibrium upset by a text. Interpretations may be judged according to prima facie properties of good interpretations such as completeness, consistency, simplicity, generality, palpability, and defensibility.

The Wars of Israel

1964 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-331
Author(s):  
A. Gelston
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
Christian Worship

Experience shows that the numerous passages in the Old Testament treating of war, and particularly those which represent Yahweh as bringing about and rejoicing in the destruction of Israel's enemies, present an immediate obstacle to the minds of many people. This contributes to an attitude, disquietingly common among worshippers, that most of the Old Testament is no longer suitable for use in Christian worship; and itself reflects the widespread but mistaken notion that, if any claim is made for the authority of the Bible as a whole, each and any part of it may be taken at its face value, and immediately related to Christian doctrine or practice. In contrast to this, it can hardly be over-emphasised that the Old Testament as a whole, and any part of it in particular, must be interpreted in the light of its historical context.

Saint Photius of Constantinople. Amphilochia. Treatise 1

2019 ◽  
pp. 78-108
Author(s):  
Дмитрий Евгеньевич Афиногенов
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Language Usage ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Correct Application

Трактат 1 из сборника «Амфилохии» св. патр. Фотия на примере истолкования конкретных мест из Библии объясняет методологию библейской экзегезы вообще. Во внимание должен приниматься не только богословский или исторический контекст, но также чисто филологические аспекты: семантика, интонация, языковой узус Нового Завета и Септуагинты, возможные разночтения и т. д. Патриарх убеждён, что при правильном пользовании этим инструментарием можно объяснить все кажущиеся противоречащими высказывания Св. Писания таким образом, что они окажутся в полном согласии друг с другом. The first treatise from «Amphilochia» by the St. Patriarch Photios expounds the general principles of the biblical exegesis on a specific example of certain passages from the Bible. It is not just the theological or historical context that has to be taken into consideration, but also purely philological aspects, such as semantics, intonation, the language usage of the New Testament and Septuagint, possible variant readings etc. The Patriarch is convinced, that the correct application of these tools makes it possible to perfectly harmonize all seemingly contradictory statements of the Scriptures.

Spinoza and Biblical Philology in the Dutch Republic, 1660-1710

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jetze Touber
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Dutch Republic ◽  
Biblical Criticism ◽  
Ecclesiastical History ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Dutch Golden Age

This book investigates the biblical criticism of Spinoza from the perspective of the Dutch Reformed society in which the philosopher lived and worked. It focusses on philological investigation of the Bible: its words, its language, and the historical context in which it originated. The book charts contested issues of biblical philology in mainstream Dutch Calvinism, to determine whether Spinoza’s work on the Bible had any bearing on the Reformed understanding of the way society should engage with Scripture. Spinoza has received massive attention, both inside and outside academia. His unconventional interpretation of the Old Testament passages has been examined repeatedly over the decades. So has that of fellow ‘radicals’ (rationalists, radicals, deists, libertines, enthusiasts), against the backdrop of a society that is assumed to have been hostile, overwhelmed, static, and uniform. This book inverts this perspective and looks at how the Dutch Republic digested biblical philology and biblical criticism, including that of Spinoza. It takes into account the highly neglected area of the Reformed ministry and theology of the Dutch Golden Age. The result is that Dutch ecclesiastical history, up until now the preserve of the partisan scholarship of confessionalized church historians, is brought into dialogue with Early Modern intellectual currents. This book concludes that Spinoza, rather than simply pushing biblical scholarship in the direction of modernity, acted in an indirect way upon ongoing debates in Dutch society, shifting trends in those debates, but not always in the same direction, and not always equally profoundly, at all times, on all levels.

Humanism, the Bible, and Erasmus’s Moral World Order

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Tubau
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Just War ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Just War Theory ◽  
World Order ◽  
Moral Order ◽  
Moral Formation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Moral World

This chapter sets Erasmus’s ideas on morality and the responsibility of rulers with regard to war in their historical context, showing their coherence and consistency with the rest of his philosophy. First, there is an analysis of Erasmus’s criticisms of the moral and legal justifications of war at the time, which were based on the just war theory elaborated by canon lawyers. This is followed by an examination of his ideas about the moral order in which the ruler should be educated and political power be exercised, with the role of arbitration as the way to resolve conflicts between rulers. As these two closely related questions are developed, the chapter shows that the moral formation of rulers, grounded in Christ’s message and the virtue politics of fifteenth-century Italian humanism, is the keystone of the moral world order that Erasmus proposes for his contemporaries.

scholarly journals A DEFENSE OF HUMEAN PROPERTY THEORY

Legal Theory ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Ira K. Lindsay
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
David Hume ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Natural Rights ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Moral Claims ◽  
Humean Theory

ABSTRACT Two rival approaches to property rights dominate contemporary political philosophy: Lockean natural rights and egalitarian theories of distributive justice. This article defends a third approach, which can be traced to the work of David Hume. Unlike Lockean rights, Humean property rights are not grounded in pre-institutional moral entitlements. In contrast to the egalitarian approach, which begins with highly abstract principles of distributive justice, Humean theory starts with simple property conventions and shows how more complex institutions can be justified against a background of settled property rights. Property rights allow people to coordinate their use of scarce resources. For property rules to serve this function effectively, certain questions must be considered settled. Treating existing property entitlements as having prima facie validity facilitates cooperation between people who disagree about distributive justice. Lockean and egalitarian theories endorse moral claims that threaten to unsettle property conventions and undermine social cooperation.

A New Interpretation of Hume's ‘Of Miracles’

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Slupik
Keyword(s):  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
New Interpretation

It has often been suggested (1) that according to Hume it is impossible in principle for testimony to prove a miracle, and (2) that an indispensable element in Hume's argument is the claim that a miracle is by definition a violation of the laws of nature. I argue that both (1) and (2) are mistaken, and that, once Hume's ‘Of Miracles’ is viewed in a proper historical context, it emerges that Hume's argument against miracles is considerably different from what is usually supposed.

scholarly journals Kristologi dalam Injil Yohanes

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Roy Martin Simanjuntak
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Local Churches ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Era

The issue of Christology from time to time is one very interesting theological topics to be discussed, both in intellectual circles, even church leaders in communities grow together in a group of local churches. The spread understanding or information about Christology are numerous and easy to find, therefore believers should to select sources so as not to cause a false understanding that led to the loss of the substance of Christology. It’s inevitable that people who are in this modern era of greatly affect the issue and the development of Christology. This discussion includes the concept Christology from the Bible, and then outlines how where fathers or figures of Christian thinkers to formulate it in a Christian doctrine that Christians are ultimately used in the history of Christianity. Christology that comes from understanding the Bible is acceptable and justified by the believer. In particular, in the Gospel of John is very fullgar when talking about Christology, both His nature as well as the work of God and man and his mission for the salvation of mankind. Abstrak Persoalan Kristologi dari zaman ke zaman merupakan sala satu topik teologi yang sangat menarik untuk dibahas, baik di kalangan intelektual, pemimpin jemaat bahkan juga di komunitas-komunitas kelompok tumbuh bersama dalam sebuah gereja lokal. Pemahaman-pemahaman yang beredar atau informasi tentang Kristologi sangatlah banyak dan mudah untuk menemukannya, oleh karenanya orang percaya mestinya menyeleksi sumber tersebut sehingga tidak menimbulkan pemahaman yang keliru dan berujung pada hilangnya substansi Kristologi tersebut. Tidak bisa dipungkiri bahwa masyarakat yang berada dalam era modern ini sangat mempengaruhi isu dan perkembangan Kristologi. Pembahasan ini meliputi konsep Kristologi yang bersumber dari Alkitab, dan kemudian menguraikan bagaimana bapa-bapa gereja atau tokoh-tokoh pemikir Kristen merumuskannya dalam sebuah doktrin Kristen yang akhirnya dipakai orang Kristen dalam sepanjang sejarah kekristenan. Kristologi yang bersumber dari Alkitab merupakan pemahaman yang dapat diterima dan dibenarkan oleh orang percaya. Secara khusus Injil Yohanes sangat terbuka membahas tentang Kristologi, baik hakikatNya sebagai Allah dan manusia maupun karya dan misiNya untuk keselamatan umat manusia.

Sin and Evil

2021 ◽  
pp. 234-249
Author(s):  
David P. Barshinger
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Pastoral Ministry ◽  
Problem Of Evil ◽  
Original Sin ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Problem Of Evil ◽  
In Christ

This chapter describes Jonathan Edwards’s doctrine of sin and evil. It emphasizes the role of the Bible as foundational to his theology while also highlighting his desire to defend the reasonableness of traditional Christian doctrine in light of eighteenth-century intellectual challenges. The chapter explores Edwards’s theodicy in response to the problem of evil—how he sought to absolve God of the charge that he is the author of evil. It describes Edwards’s doctrine of original sin and human depravity, which he explained by defending the universality of sin and the transmission of Adam’s sin to his posterity and in which he developed an innovative metaphysic using occasionalism and continuous creationism. As a pastor, Edwards preached on sin to warn people of punishment, call them to repentance, and emphasize redemption in Christ. The chapter recommends giving greater attention to Edwards’s sermons and pastoral ministry in understanding his view of sin and evil.

Hobbes, Conatus and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

1998 ◽  
pp. 143-147
Author(s):  
Juhani Pietarinen
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Prisoner's Dilemma ◽  
Causal Power ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Prisoner’S Dilemma ◽  
Sovereign Power ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
State Of Nature ◽  
Made In

I want to show the importance of the notion of conatus (endeavor) for Hobbes' political philosophy. According to Hobbes, all motion of bodies consists of elementary motions he called 'endeavors.' They are motions 'made in less space and time than can be given,' and they obey the law of persistence or inertia. A body strives to preserve its state and resist the causal power of other bodies. I call this the conatus-principle. Hobbes' argument for social contract and sovereign is based essentially on this model. He proves that the natural conatus makes people (i) strive to preserve their lives and therefore to get out of the destructive state of nature; (ii) commit to mutual contracts; (iii) keep the contracts unless some external cause otherwise determines; and (iv) establish a permanent sovereign power that Hobbes calls 'an artificial eternity of life.' All this is determined by the fundamental laws of nature, essentially, by the conatus-principle. I also show that the Prisoner's Dilemma interpretation of the Hobbesian state of nature does not represent all of the essential features of Hobbes' argument.

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