Summary
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great 17th century political philosopher Thomas Hobbes who argued: "During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man". For Hobbes, the difference between order and disorder was stark. In the state of nature, ungoverned man lived life in "continual fear, and danger of violent death". The only way out of this "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" existence, he said, was to relinquish all your freedom and submit yourself to one all powerful absolute sovereign. Hobbes' proposal, contained in his controversial and now classic text, Leviathan, was written just as England was readjusting to life after the Civil War and the rule of Oliver Cromwell. In fact, in his long life Hobbes’ allegiance switched from Charles I to Cromwell and back to Charles II. But how did the son of a poor clergyman end up as the most radical thinker of his day? Why did so many of Hobbes' ideas run counter to the prevailing fondness for constitutionalism with a limited monarchy? And why is he regarded by so many political philosophers as an important theorist when so few find his ideas convincing? With Quentin Skinner, Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge; David Wootton, Professor of History at the University of York; Annabel Brett, Senior Lecturer in Political Thought and Intellectual History at Cambridge University.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | Thanks for downloading the In Our Time Podcast. |
| 0:39.0 | For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co. UK forward slash radio for. I hope |
| 0:46.2 | you enjoy the program. Hello quote during the time men live without a common power to |
| 0:52.2 | keep them all in awe they're in that condition which is called |
| 0:55.2 | war, and such a war as is of every man against every man. Thus Thomas Hobbs, the great |
| 1:01.0 | 17th century natural philosopher, who was principally interested |
| 1:04.1 | in political theory. For Hobbes, the difference between order and disorder was stark. |
| 1:08.9 | In the state of nature, ungoverned man lived a life in continual fear and danger of violent death. |
| 1:14.9 | The only way out, he argued, was to submit yourself to warn all powerful absolute sovereign. |
| 1:20.8 | Hobbs' proposals contained in his controversial and now classic text, The Leviathan, |
| 1:25.3 | was written just as England was readjusting to life after the Civil War, the execution of the |
| 1:30.0 | King and the rule of Oliver Cromwell. |
| 1:32.0 | Why did so many of Hob's ideas run counter to the prevailing |
| 1:35.2 | demands for constitutionalism with a limited monarchy? And why is he regarded by so many political |
| 1:40.1 | philosophers as radical and important today. |
| 1:43.0 | With me to discuss the life and work of Thomas Hobbs, I Quentin Skinner, Regis Professor |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.