Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, Chapter 2 summary
Chapter 2 of 65 · Part 1: Of Man · 9 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 2, imagination is explained as sensory motion that continues after its original cause disappears, linking memory, dreams, and understanding to bodily processes. The argument challenges claims about visions and spirits, connects superstition with manipulation, and criticizes schools for failing to explain how thought works.
What happens
- The argument uses continuing motion to explain why sensory images persist after their objects disappear.
- Memory and imagination name the same fading sensation, while compounded imagination combines parts of earlier perceptions.
- Dreams arise from internal bodily disturbances and seem vivid because fresh sensations do not overwhelm them.
- Marcus Brutus’s reported apparition illustrates how unnoticed sleep can make a dream seem like a vision.
- The argument connects supernatural fears with manipulation and criticizes schools for sustaining confused explanations.
- Understanding arises through words or signs; humans also understand thoughts through ordered forms of speech.
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