B.2.3 Who are the thinkers: Leviathan analysis

Question 1

Explain the connotations of the book’s title

Answer 1

• the engraved title page of Leviathan (released in 1651) can be read both vertically & horizontally
• both forms of analysis suggests the same holistic (all-encompassing i.e. looking at, & considering the whole picture) message: that the sovereign (which is the giant ‘Leviathan’ figure) governs both the physical & spiritual aspects of society

Question 2

Explain what Hobbes meant by the book’s title of ‘Leviathan’

Answer 2

• Hobbes argued that, without society being structured through the mirror image of a government, humans would live in a violent state of nature
• in this way, to avoid this, the people should, ideally, agree to a social contract that establishes a sovereign with absolute power: the ‘Leviathan’; which enables the possibility of supreme authority & ensures a societal natural order

Question 3

Explain what is meant by the illustration of the monarch’s body