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Aspects of voluntary action in Hobbes

Authors

  • Celi Hirata USP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2447-9012.espinosa.2021.181939

Keywords:

Voluntary action, Freedom, Obligation, Rights of resistance, Leviathan

Abstract

Hobbes gives unprecedented importance to voluntary action, inasmuch as he maintains that the source of every obligation is a voluntary act of those that oblige themselves, given that all humans are naturally free and equal and that there are no natural obligations. On the one hand, Hobbes displaces the discussion about voluntary action and broadens
the conception of what can be considered so in relation to the tradition that goes back to Aristotle, since for him an action made out of fear is as voluntary as one performed due to some apetite. On the other hand, Hobbes limits voluntary actions to those actions that aim at the good of the agent — it is absolutely impossible that one would act contrary to her or his apparent good. In this article I intend to explore these aspects of the theory of voluntary action in Hobbes and indicate how these positions are accentuated in Leviathan.

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References

ARISTÓTELES. (1979) “Ética a Nicômaco”. In: aristóteles.Coleção Os Pensadores, ii. São Paulo: Abril.

___________. (2008) Ethica Nicomachea I 13 - III- 8: Tratado da virtude moral. Tradução e seleção de M. Zingano. São Paulo: Odysseus

HOBBES, T. (1839) [1656]“The questions concerning liberty, necessity and chance”. In: The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, vol. V. Londres: John Bohn

_________. (1976) Thomas White’s De Mundo examined. Tradução para o inglês de H. W. Jones. Londres: Bradford University Press

_________. (2002) [1642]Do Cidadão. Tradução de R. J. Ribeiro. São Paulo: Martins Fontes.

_________. (2010) [1640]. Os elementos da lei natural e política. Tradução de B. Simões. São Paulo: Martins Fontes

_________. (2014) [1651]. Leviatã ou matéria, forma e poder de uma república eclesiástica e civil. Tradução de J. P. Monteiro, M. B Silva e C. Berliner. Terceira edição. São Paulo: Martins Fontes.

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Published

2021-06-30

Versions

Issue

No. 44 (2021)

Section

Artigos

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Copyright (c) 2021 Celi Hirata

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How to Cite

Hirata, C. (2021). Aspects of voluntary action in Hobbes. Cadernos Espinosanos, 44, pp. 39-59. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2447-9012.espinosa.2021.181939