The fear of Death and the longing for immortality : hobbes and thucydides on human nature and the problem of anarchy
By: AHRENSDORF, Peter J
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Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: 2000American Political Science Review 94, 3, p. 579-594Abstract: Recent challenges to the modern secular state invite us to reexamine the arguments made by its theoretical founders, especialy Hobbes. Hobbes argues that the desire for security is the most reliable and rational desire of our nature, and the state based on satisfying that desire is fully in harmony with human nature and therefore fully capable of solving the problem of anarchy. I will examine his argument that anarchy, although in some sense the natural human condition, can e overcome once and for all through political institutions that ensure the rational fear of dealth wil control humans`destabilizing hopes and longings for immortality. I then turn to Thucydides, the classical thinker whom Hobbes admired most and who seems closest to Hobbes in outlook, and consider his more somber thesis: Because human hopes for immortality are more powerful than the fear of violent death, anarchy wil return over and over again
| Item type | Current location | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Periódico | Biblioteca Graciliano Ramos | Periódico | Not for loan |
Recent challenges to the modern secular state invite us to reexamine the arguments made by its theoretical founders, especialy Hobbes. Hobbes argues that the desire for security is the most reliable and rational desire of our nature, and the state based on satisfying that desire is fully in harmony with human nature and therefore fully capable of solving the problem of anarchy. I will examine his argument that anarchy, although in some sense the natural human condition, can e overcome once and for all through political institutions that ensure the rational fear of dealth wil control humans`destabilizing hopes and longings for immortality. I then turn to Thucydides, the classical thinker whom Hobbes admired most and who seems closest to Hobbes in outlook, and consider his more somber thesis: Because human hopes for immortality are more powerful than the fear of violent death, anarchy wil return over and over again
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