Reason and Rhetoric in the Philosophy of Hobbes (Ideas in Context)

Quentin Skinner presents a fundamental reappraisal of the political theory of Hobbes. Using, for the first time, the full range of manuscript as well as printed sources, it documents an entirely new view of Hobbes's intellectual development, and re-examines the shift from a humanist to a scientific culture in European moral and political thought. By examining Hobbes's philosophy against the background of his humanist education, Professor Skinner rescues this most difficult and challenging of political philosophers from the intellectual isolation in which he is so often discussed. This book presents a splendid exemplification of the 'Cambridge' contextual approach to the study of intellectual history with which Professor Skinner himself is especially associated. It will be of interest and importance to a wide range of scholars in history, philosophy, politics, and literary theory. Professor Skinner has been awarded the Balzan Prize Life Time Achievement Award for Political Thought, History and Theory. Full details of this award can be found at http://www.balzan.it/News\_eng.aspx?ID=2474.

This major work from Quentin Skinner presents a fundamental reappraisal of the political theory of Hobbes. Using, for the first time, the full range of manuscript as well as printed sources, it documents an entirely new view of Hobbes' intellectual development, and reexamines the shift from a humanist to a scientific culture in European moral and political thought. By examining Hobbes' philosophy against the background of his humanist education, Professor Skinner rescues this most difficult and challenging of political philosophers from the intellectual isolation in which he is so often discussed.

This book from Quentin Skinner presents an outstanding new interpretation of the political theory of Hobbes. Using all the available text and manuscript sources, the author documents a new view of Hobbes's intellectual development, rescuing him from the intellectual isolation in which he is so often discussed. This is a new interpretation of Hobbes, one of the most difficult and challenging of political philosophers. Using the full range of manuscript as well as printed sources, it documents a new view of Hobbes's intellectual development

an Outstanding New Interpretation Of Hobbes, One Of The Most Difficult And Challenging Of Political Philosophers.