Leviathan: Chapter 46 Summary & Analysis

Philosophy is knowledge that comes from reasoning, like a Geometrician’s study of lines and figures, or an Astronomer’s study of the sun and stars. Philosophy does not include knowledge that comes from experience or prudence, as such knowledge comes from memory not reason. A false conclusion is not philosophy, nor is any supernatural revelation. Philosophy is not merely the studying of books on a certain topic; it must include the observation of cause-and-effect relationships.

Philosophy has been around for ages in many civilizations. The “Savages of America” have good morals and even use basic mathematics, but this does not make them philosophers. The Athenians in Greece were known to publicly debate philosophy, and philosophers each had a specific public place where they debated with others. Plato had public walks known as “Academia,” and Aristotle used the Temple of Lyceum. From Athens, this philosophical discourse spread across Europe and Africa to nearly every common-wealth.

But not all philosophy came from Athens. Geometry, for instance, did not originate with Plato, although he only allowed students into his school if they were already Geometricians. As all of Nature works by motion, and one cannot expect to understand Nature without an understanding of lines and shapes. The moral philosophy of the Athenians, however, was but “their own Passions,” and their logic was nothing but “Captions of Words.” The most absurd examples of ancient philosophy, according to Hobbes, are Aristotle’s Metaphysiques, his Politiques, and his Ethiques.   

Now, Hobbes turns to the particular “Tenants of Vain Philosophy” that universities and churches espouse, which are rooted partly in Aristotle and partly in poor understanding. According to Hobbes, all philosophies must rely on a “Philosophia prima,” which are accepted definitions of certain things, like “Body, Time, Place, Matter, Forme, […] Quality, Motion, Action, Passion,” and many other things relating to Nature. The explanations and definitions of such things is called Metaphysics, most of which is according to Aristotle, who argued objects have “Abstract Essences, and Substantiall Formes.” 

To understand the way in which Aristotle employs “Essences Abstract, or Substantiall Formes,” one must first understand exactly what these words signify. An abstract essence does not have a body of substance, whereas any form that is substantial must have some sort of tangible body. Thus, to say “a Man, is, a living Body” is to say that the man and body are one and the same, not two separate entities (one made of substance, the other of an abstract essence).

Using this idea of “Separated Essences” that is predicated on Aristotle’s false philosophy, citizens of common-wealths all over the world have been frightened into disobeying their sovereign power. It is from this very same philosophy that people believe the soul of a person who is long dead can be seen as a spectral ghost, that a piece of bread can be turned into the flesh of another through incantation, or that faith and wisdom can be “poured into” or “blown into” someone from Heaven. This, Hobbes says, is just a short list of the fallacies that have been brought to the church by Aristotle’s “Essences.”

Aristotle’s “Essences” laid the foundation for a whole host of additional incongruities to enter the Church. As such intangible substances are thought to be real, they need some place to be, which accounts for the invention of Hell and Purgatory. But how an object without substance can feel pain and torment in the fires of Hell is again incomprehensible. Motion is defined as a “change of Place,” yet an incorporeal substance cannot have “place,” as it does not have a physical body to take up space.

Aristotle’s accounting of time and eternity, too, makes little sense. The Greeks believed eternity to be the present time standing still, not an endless procession of time that goes on indefinitely without end. Aristotle’s philosophy also gave way to the belief that a body can be divided and be in multiple places at once. Physics, which is the knowledge of the natural causes of events, also has no place in Aristotle’s philosophy. Aristotelian logic professes heavy objects sink because of a desire to get to the center of the Earth, as if an object made of stone or metal can have passions and a favorite place of rest.  

Aristotle’s understanding of the human senses also relies on “Apparitions” and “Essences,” neither of which can come into direct contact with any of the human sense organs. Aristotle’s moral and civil philosophy is even more ridiculous, Hobbes argues. For instance, if one breaks the law, this is not an injustice, because God made the law and caused the actions of the person who broke the law. Aristotle also argues there can never be general rules of good and bad because each person and their opinions are individual. This is not the case in a common-wealth, in which there is agreement on what is good and bad (lawful and unlawful) based on their shared covenant.

Another form of erroneous philosophy the Church practices is denying the Clergy the ability to marry. This rule does nothing but make marriage appear obscene and immoral and is likely based on a misinterpretation of Holy Scripture. Christ says that those in his Kingdome “shall neither Marry, nor bee given in Marriage, but shall bee as the Angels in heaven.” But this passage speaks of the spirit after Judgement Day, not of the body in this world.

According to Aristotle’s civil philosophy, all common-wealths that are not democracies are governed by tyrants. In this vein, a monarch is a tyrant, and an aristocracy is a group of tyrants, and true liberty can only be achieved through democracy. This assumption is false, as Hobbes has already demonstrated that any government, including a democracy, can hold tyrannical power over the people.

It is also erroneous civil philosophy (although it was not learned from Aristotle or Cicero) to extend the law’s power beyond actions to the private thoughts and consciences of individual people, as in done in the “Inquisition.” In such circumstances, subjects of common-wealths are punished if they truthfully admit their thoughts (if those thoughts are contrary to the Inquisition), or they are forced to lie and admit that which they do not believe to avoid punishment. 

Error is also the result when a private citizen, without the authority of the sovereign power of a common-wealth, independently interprets the law. This error wasn’t drawn from Aristotle either, but it is still damaging to a common-wealth. And, Hobbes points out, there is no difference between Holy Scripture and civil law if the sovereign power has made Holy Scripture the law in a specific common-wealth. Errors in common-wealths also arise when anyone but the sovereign power decides when, and to whom, preaching of the Gospel is appropriate. For instance, if Hobbes is in America “amongst the Idolaters,” should he have to wait for “Orders from Rome” to preach the true Gospel to them? 

The last error Hobbes discusses is that of “false, or uncertain History,” like the stories of miracles, ghosts, Hell, and Purgatory that make up the traditions of the Church. If such traditions are not reflected in God’s Word, they can be nothing but old wives’ tales. With the propagation of false tradition also comes the suppression of that which is true. In such cases, one who has neither authority nor education is held as a competent judge of truth. This suppression is absurd, and it has no rational reason. It is not possible for true philosophy to be contrary to religion if they are both true.