Limiting Leviathan : Hobbes on law and international affairs / Larry May.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

May, Larry, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hobbes, Thomas, 1588-1679. Leviathan.

Hobbes, Thomas.

Hobbes, Thomas, 1588-1679. Dialogue between a philosopher and a student of the common laws of England.

Law--Philosophy.

Law.

Physical Description:

ix, 260 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2013.

Summary:

Thomas Hobbes wrote extensively about law and was strongly influenced by developments and debates among lawyers of his day. And Hobbes is considered by many commentators to be one of the first legal positivists. Yet there is no book in English that focuses on Hobbes's legal philosophy. Indeed, Hobbes's own book length treatment of law, A Dialogue Between a Philosopher and a Student of the Common Laws of England, has also not received much commentary over the centuries. Larry May seeks to fill the gap in the literature by addressing Hobbes's legal philosophy directly, and comparing Leviathan to the Dialogue, as he offers a new interpretation of Hobbes's views about the connections among law, politics, and morality. May argues that Hobbes is much more amenable to moral, and even legal, limits on law-making-indeed closer to Lon Fuller than to today's legal positivists-than he is often portrayed. He shows that Hobbes's views can provide a solid grounding for the rules of war and international relations generally, contrary to the near universal belief that Hobbes is the bête noir of international law. To support these views, May holds that Hobbes places greater weight on equity than on justice, and that understanding the role of equity is the key to his legal philosophy. Equity also is the moral concept that provides restrictions on what a sovereign can legitimately do, and if violated is the kind of limitation on sovereignty that could open the door for possible international institutions. Book jacket.

Contents:

I Limitations on Sovereign Law-Making 2

II Summary of Arguments of the Book 15

I Law, Morality, and Prudence 20

1 Sovereignty and Assumpsit 21

II Self-Interest and Natural Bight 25

III Moral Epistemology and the Laws of Nature 28

IV Conscience, Promise, and Contract 32

V Law and Morality 38

VI Prudence and Morality 42

VII Conclusions 46

2 Social Contract 48

I The Legal Background 49

II The Original Contract 52

III The Constitutional Contract 56

IV Conclusions 65

3 Equity and Justice 67

I The Earlier View 68

II The Later View 76

III Conclusions 81

4 Concept of Law 85

I Hobbes's Dialogue 86

II Knowledge of the Law 89

III The Origins and Sources of Law 93

IV The Nature of Law 99

V Aquinas and Hobbes on the Typology of Law 108

VI Common Law 113

VII Natural Law and Equity 117

5 Fidelity to Law 122

I Obligation to Obey the Law 122

II Limits on Legal Authority 125

III The Soldier and the Condemned Man 127

IV Mere Obedience versus Fidelity to Law 132

V Conclusions 135

6 Sovereignty and Artificial Reason 139

I Natural Reason and Sovereignty in Leviathan 140

II Edward Coke on Artificial Reason 142

III Artificial Reason and Sovereignty in the Dialogue 146

IV Matthew Hale's Defense of Artificial Reason 149

V Divided Sovereignty and the Rule of Law 151

7 Authorization, Joint Action, and Representation 156

I Grotius's Consent Principle 157

II Hobbes on Artificial Persons and Authority 160

III The Multitudes 163

IV A Hobbesian Account of Mass Action 167

V Objections 170

8 Crimes and the International Order 173

I Hobbes and International Relations Theory 174

II Trust and the First Performer 178

III International Civil Society 180

IV International Law in Kant's Perpetual Peace 184

V A Hobbesian Defense of International Criminal Law 187

VI Objections 190

9 Rules of War 195

I The Laws of Nature 196

II Hobbes on Self-Preservation and Cruelty 199

III Rationality in War 204

IV A Hobbesian View of Cruelty 207

V Minimalist Rules of War 211

VI The Laws of War 214

VII Objections 219

10 The Attitude of Pacifism 224

I Attitudes and Moral Psychology 225

II Trust, First Performance, and Peace 227

III The Reasonableness of Developing Pacifist Attitudes 230

IV The Choice between Peace and War 233

V The Problem of the First Peace-Seeker 235.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [249]-254) and index.

ISBN:

9780199682799

0199682798

0199682801

9780199682805

OCLC:

852806194