Hobbes on Legal Authority and Political Obligation

Administrative / Constitutional Law

Hobbes on Legal Authority and Political Obligation

By Luciano Venezia
Palgrave Macmillan September 2015

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781137490247
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
Publication
September 2015
Format
Hardback
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

According to the standard interpretation, Hobbes argues that subjects have binding political obligations because the sanctions for non-compliance provided by the law give them sufficient reason to obey. This view comprises an account of law and a theory of political obligation. The standard interpretation considers that for Hobbes the characteristic feature of law lies in its causal capacity to compel subjects to obey by the use of physical force or the threat to use physical force. In turn, this reading states that subjects are bound to obey the law because so acting best promotes their rational self-interest.

Hobbes on Legal Authority and Political Obligation challenges this reading, and develops an alternative interpretation of Hobbes's theory of political obligation. According to the account developed in the book, the directives issued by the sovereign introduce authoritative requirements, so that the subjects are morally obligated to obey them.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1. The Project
1.2. Method
1.3. Strategy
1.4. Textual Evidence
Chapter 2. Coercion, Rational Self-Interest, and Obligation
2.1. Conflict in the State of Nature
2.2. Anti-Social Passions and Sanctions for Non-Compliance
2.3. Legal Coercion, Private Good, and the Common Good
2.4. The End of the Story?
2.5. Lloyd's Account
Chapter 3. The Authority of Law
3.1. The Concept of Authority
3.2. Even For the Rationally and Morally Perfect
3.3. The Command Theory of Law
3.4. Arbitration
3.5. Beliefs or Actions?
Chapter 4. Political Obligation
4.1. Egoism
4.2. Moral Reasons in Hobbes?
4.3. The Theory of Political Obligation
4.4. The Mutual Containment Thesis
4.5. The Rationale for Political Disobedience
Chapter 5. Contractarianism
5.1. Hobbes' Account: An Interpretation
5.2. What Difference does the Sovereign Make?
5.3. Contractual Obligation: Prudential or Deontological?
5.4. Obligation and Reason
Chapter 6. The Hobbesian Analysis of Contracts under Coercion: A Critique
6.1. Hobbes on Voluntariness, Coercion, and Obligation
6.2. Coercion, Rationality and Voluntariness
6.3. Rationality without Voluntariness
6.4. Conclusion
Final Remarks
Bibliography
HKD 584.87

Inclusive of HK delivery

Ready to ship
Delivery Time: around 4-5 weeks
Extra 10 working days if shipping address outside Hong Kong
  • Free HK shipping over HK$1,000
  • International shipping to 35+ countries
Order Form
Save

Recommended

You may also be interested in these books:

More titles from Administrative / Constitutional Law

View all
Routledge Q&A Constitutional & Administrative Law 2013-2014, 8th Edition
Routledge

Routledge Q&A Constitutional & Administrative Law 2013-2014, 8th Edition

Helen Fenwick; Gavin Phillipson
HKD 189.15
Scales of Memory: Constitutional Justice and Historical Evil
Oxford University Press

Scales of Memory: Constitutional Justice and Historical Evil

Justin Collings
HKD 1,702.35
Bennion on Statutory Interpretation 7th Edition with 1st Supplement
LexisNexis U.K.

Bennion on Statutory Interpretation 7th Edition with 1st Supplement

Diggory Bailey; Luke Norbury
Asian Comparative Constitutional Law, Volume 3: Constitutional Structure
Hart Publishing

Asian Comparative Constitutional Law, Volume 3: Constitutional Structure

Ngoc Son Bui; Mara Malagodi; Christopher Roberts
HKD 2,017.60
The Intricacies of Dicta and Dissent
Cambridge University Press

The Intricacies of Dicta and Dissent

Neil Duxbury
HKD 1,311.44
Reckoning with Law in Excess: Mobilization, Confrontation, Refusal
Cambridge University Press

Reckoning with Law in Excess: Mobilization, Confrontation, Refusal

Mark Goodale; Olaf Zenker
HKD 441.22