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Thomas Hobbes: The Leviathan
Season 1 Episode 213
In this episode of The Vancrux Podcast, we dive deep into the life and philosophy of Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), the English thinker who forever changed how we view human nature, society, and power. Born prematurely and abandoned by his father, Hobbes grew up with a keen awareness of vulnerability and the precariousness of life. This early exposure to uncertainty would shape his view of humanity as inherently self-interested, competitive, and in need of guidance.
You’ll journey with Hobbes from his education at Oxford, through his European travels, and into the intellectual circles of Galileo, Bacon, and Descartes, where he was inspired by the emerging deterministic science of motion and the certainty of mathematics. These influences led him to see the universe — and human beings — as mechanical systems, governed by predictable laws.
The episode explores Hobbes’ revolutionary ideas:
- The state of nature, where life without authority is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
- The social contract, through which individuals surrender certain freedoms in exchange for protection and order.
- The Commonwealth and Leviathan, his metaphor for the absolute sovereign who unites civil, military, judicial, and ecclesiastical powers, rejecting the separation of powers to prevent chaos.
- His materialist philosophy, which treats humans, bodies, minds, and societies as mechanical systems shaped by deterministic forces.
- Ethical implications: survival and obedience as context-dependent rights and duties.
Through thought experiments, vivid metaphors, and practical applications, this episode invites you to reflect on your own life: where are you operating in a “state of nature,” driven by impulses, and where could your personal or social Leviathan — systems, routines, or structures — create stability, focus, and flourishing?
By the end, you’ll see Hobbes not as a distant political theorist, but as a practical guide for navigating the complexities of human behavior, society, and authority in both historical and modern contexts.
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Published on 1 day, 15 hours ago