14. The Sovereign State: Hobbes' Leviathan

Introduction to Political Philosophy (PLSC 114)

The concept of sovereignty is discussed in Hobbesian terms. For Hobbes, "the sovereign" is an office rather than a person, and can be characterized by what we have come to associate with executive power and executive authority. Hobbes' theories of laws are also addressed and the distinction he makes between "just laws" and "good laws." The lecture ends with a discussion of Hobbes' ideas in the context of the modern state.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: Hobbes' Theory of Sovereignty
06:00 - Chapter 2. The Doctrine of Legal PositivIsm: The Law Is What the Sovereign Commands
23:14 - Chapter 3. Hobbesian Liberalism
32:10 - Chapter 4. Hobbes and the Modern State

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Fall 2006.