Great summary! The political problem with Hobbes leads directly into the spiritual problem with Hobbes, and back. The replacement of the Aristotle/Aquinas idea of Natural Law with his version results in a very inhumane picture of humanity and all the attending misery, unless of course you happen to be the one Sovereign. One can see how this thought leads to Marx/Stalin/Mao/Hitler, Atheism, war, xenophobia, unlimited State power, and all the other assorted degradations of humanity.
Oh, I totally agree, Rodney! I don't know enough history to say that you can draw a direct through line from Hobbes to them, but his ideas contribute to the broader intellectual atmosphere that continues to erode the classical and Christian paradigms about reality even today. It only stands to reason that such an assault on reality will have catastrophic results. Thanks for your comment!
Hi Simon, thanks for stopping by my Substack and leaving a comment! I do read and enjoy DBH from time to time but haven't read that one yet. I'll be sure to check it out!
Great summary! The political problem with Hobbes leads directly into the spiritual problem with Hobbes, and back. The replacement of the Aristotle/Aquinas idea of Natural Law with his version results in a very inhumane picture of humanity and all the attending misery, unless of course you happen to be the one Sovereign. One can see how this thought leads to Marx/Stalin/Mao/Hitler, Atheism, war, xenophobia, unlimited State power, and all the other assorted degradations of humanity.
Oh, I totally agree, Rodney! I don't know enough history to say that you can draw a direct through line from Hobbes to them, but his ideas contribute to the broader intellectual atmosphere that continues to erode the classical and Christian paradigms about reality even today. It only stands to reason that such an assault on reality will have catastrophic results. Thanks for your comment!
I think David Bentley Hart's recently published 'All Things Are Full of Gods' is very relevant to this post.
Hi Simon, thanks for stopping by my Substack and leaving a comment! I do read and enjoy DBH from time to time but haven't read that one yet. I'll be sure to check it out!
It's his latest book, something of a sequel to ‘The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss’.