Made with Words: Hobbes on Language, Mind, and Politics (Hardcover)
by Philip Pettit (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Review
It might seem, then, that little more can be said about Hobbes, but Pettit's oblique analysis of the language and reasoning sheds a very distinctive light on Hobbes's political insights, and genuinely adds new ideas to an oft-trampled field. Not only do we get a clearly organized and coherent explanation of the ideas, within a convincing framework as the ideas grow from language itself to the body politic, but we instantly know we're in the hands of a writer who really knows his Hobbes: the arguments move steadily and logically through, supported by (in the best sense) eclectic quotations from the original works (all in English, since some of them originally appeared in Latin).
(
Stuart Hannabuss Library Review )
Review
This book is the best short introduction to Hobbes's philosophy now available, but it's more than that. It is a meditation on the ways in which language makes politics possible, and on the reasons why language makes politics so difficult. Pettit, one of the world's leading philosophers, brings a fresh eye to the work of one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived, and he opens it up to original insights and challenging new puzzles. Above all, he shows us why Hobbes's view of the human condition as made with words still matters.
(
David Runciman, author of "The Politics of Good Intentions" )
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Product Details
- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press (January 3, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0691129290
- ISBN-13: 978-0691129297
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
