Reclaiming The Rights Of The Hobbesian Subject

Reclaiming the Rights of the Hobbesian Subject Eleanor Curran Reclaiming the Rights of the Hobbesian Subject This page intentionally left blank Reclaiming the Rights of the Hobbesian Subject Eleanor Curran Kent University © Eleanor Curran 2007 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–0–230–00149–7 ISBN-10: 0–230–00149–1 hardback hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 16 9 15 8 14 7 13 6 12 5 11 4 10 3 09 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne 2 08 1 07 This book is dedicated to the memory of my father, Michael Joseph Curran. With love and thanks for his kindness, his wit and for all the conversation and argument around the table. This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Tables viii Preface ix Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 Part I The Historical Context of Hobbes’s Political Theory 9 1 Examining the Orthodoxy – Hobbes and Royalism 11 2 The Political Context – Taking Sides? 26 Part II Hobbes’s Theory of Rights: The Textual Argument 63 3 Liberties and Claims – Rights and Duties 65 4 The Full Right to Self-Preservation and Sovereign Duties 103 Part III Hobbes and Theories of Natural Law and Natural Rights 123 5 The Natural Rights Tradition – With or Without Hobbes? 125 Part IV Hobbes’s Theory of Rights – A Modern Secular Theory 151 6 Current Discussions of Hobbesia