ABSTRACT
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) is best-known as one of the preeminent theorists of the modern state. In his political writings he defends obedience to undivided and absolute sovereignty as the only solution to human conflict and war, arguing that only if the civil sovereign has overwhelming power to bend the will of each citizen can a catastrophe be avoided. As radical as they are contentious, few of his readers have been willing to accept his views without reservation. Yet, they are difficult to ignore. He inventively incorporates commonly held views and aspects of the views of his opponents, and he makes a concerted effort, over several decades, to place his politics in a systematic philosophy that includes metaphysics, natural philosophy, and what we would today call psychology. The result is a tightly argued wide-ranging philosophical system. This is also the reason why a handbook on evil should include a chapter on Hobbes. At several moments, he contributes to the conceptual history of evil by showing how evil must be understood to fit with his unconventional political and philosophical commitments. In this chapter I provide an overview organized primarily around two of those moments.
