In the Shadow of Leviathan
John Locke and the Politics of Conscience

Revolutionises our understanding of Hobbes's influence over Locke and their roles within the history of religious freedom and liberalism.

Jeffrey R. Collins (Author)

9781108478816, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 February 2020

456 pages
23.6 x 16 x 2.8 cm, 0.77 kg

'… In the Shadow of Leviathan is an important work of scholarship from which no one can fail to learn a great deal. It is to be hoped that it will stimulate other scholars to rescue the relationship between Locke and Hobbes from a period of anomalous and wholly undeserved neglect.' Nicholas Jolley, Journal of the History of Philosophy

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke sit together in the canon of political thought but are rarely treated in common historical accounts. This book narrates their intertwined careers during the Restoration period, when the two men found themselves in close proximity and entangled in many of the same political conflicts. Bringing new source material to bear, In the Shadow of Leviathan establishes the influence of Hobbesian thought over Locke, particularly in relation to the preeminent question of religious toleration. Excavating Hobbes's now forgotten case for a prudent, politique toleration gifted by sovereign power, Jeffrey R. Collins argues that modern, liberal thinking about toleration was transformed by Locke's gradual emancipation from this Hobbesian mode of thought. This book investigates those landmark events - the civil war, Restoration, the popish plot, the Revolution of 1688 - which eventually forced Locke to confront the limits of politique toleration, and to devise an account of religious freedom as an inalienable right.

Acknowledgements
Note on the text
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1. John Locke and Interregnum Hobbism
2. The Restoration projects of Thomas Hobbes
3. John Locke and the Restoration politique
4. Non-domination liberty in spiritual context
5. Locke, conscience, and the Libertas Ecclesiae
6. Locke and Catholicism: the 'Roman Leviathan'
7. Locke and a 'more liberal' Hobbism
Conclusion. Conscience and Liberalism's two paths
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & political philosophy [HPS], Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD], British & Irish history [HBJD1]