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Hobbes's Kingdom of Light: A Study of the Foundations of Modern Political Philosophy

24. May 2019 Philosophy News News
2019.05.20 : View this Review Online | View Recent NDPR Reviews Devin Stauffer, Hobbes's Kingdom of Light: A Study of the Foundations of Modern Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 2018, 295pp., $50.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780226552903. Reviewed by Adrian Blau, King's College London Devin Stauffer offers a brilliant and controversial esoteric interpretation of Hobbes's attack on religion, and relates it to Hobbes's metaphysics, natural philosophy, and politics/ethics. Although Hobbes apparently tries to show that religion is consistent with his ethics and politics, Stauffer sees religious belief as Hobbes's 'most fundamental foe' (193). His 'desire to undermine religion' led to 'moral teaching that . . . is more likely to draw men away from belief than toward it' (236). The ultimate aim is not just to 'rationalize' Christianity by removing superstition, but to foster 'a far-reaching and comprehensive enlightenment' (272). My praise of this Straussian interpretation will surprise some readers, given that I have published a paper called 'Anti-Strauss'... Read [More]
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