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토머스 홉스의 『리바이어던』 줄거리

저자 토머스 홉스

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10 key ideas
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Hobbes pictures a world with no government, then asks what you would give up to escape it.

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읽는 시간: 약 13 h 45 min10 h 55 min fast, 16 h 20 min slow
길이: 196,000단어
도서관 난이도: 읽기 어려워요 long sentences, a rich vocabulary
최초 출간: 1651by 토머스 홉스

Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). 고전을 읽는 데 걸리는 시간 · 업데이트 22 October 2026

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토머스 홉스의 『리바이어던』 in short

Leviathan moves in one steady line. Hobbes starts with the mind as matter in motion, then shows how definitions make reasoning possible. The passions reveal a restless desire for power, and people without government live in constant fear.

What 토머스 홉스의 『리바이어던』 is about

Picture a world with no police, no courts and no government at all. Every neighbor is a possible threat, so you lock your doors, arm yourself on the road and sleep badly. Thomas Hobbes asks you to picture exactly this, and then asks why anyone would choose to stay there.

Leviathan appeared in 1651, while England was torn by civil war. Hobbes argues that people need a single strong authority, or they fall into violence. He builds the case from the ground up, from the human mind to law, religion and the power of the Church. He calls the state a giant man made by human skill, so we begin with the human being who makes it.

이런 분께 적합해요. This book is for readers who love big arguments about power, law and human nature, and for anyone curious where modern ideas of the state, the social contract and obedience come from.

The 10 key ideas

Key idea 1 · free to read
Your mind is nothing but matter in motion
Hobbes begins with a plain claim. Everything in the mind comes from the senses, and the senses are motion. An object presses on the eye or the ear, the pressure travels inward, and the heart pushes back. That push outward is what we call seeing or hearing.
Imagination is simply sense that is fading, and memory is the same thing seen as old. Dreams arise while the senses are numb, so they can feel as clear as waking life. Hobbes thinks Brutus dozed in his cold tent and dreamed of what frightened him most. Ghosts and witches' power are mistakes made by people who cannot tell a dream from a sight.
Thoughts do not wander at random. One follows another because the two followed each other in earlier experience. Prudence is the guess that the future will repeat the past. This matters for politics, because fear of invisible spirits makes people easy to steer.
Know your own mind, and you can steer clear of false masters.
2
Reason is reckoning, so define your words first
Hobbes calls speech the noblest invention, because without it there would be no society, contract or peace.
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3
Desire never rests and always reaches for power
Hobbes treats the passions as small motions that push us toward things or away from them.
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4
Without a common power, life becomes a war of all
Hobbes asks what life would be like without government.
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5
Laws of nature point to peace but need a sword
If life without government is so miserable, why not simply escape it?
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6
People make the sovereign by authorizing one will
How does a group of people create the power that keeps the peace?
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7
Monarchy serves best, yet liberty lives in silence
Hobbes sorts commonwealths by who holds sovereignty.
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8
Good law, fair punishment and teaching keep the state alive
Law, for Hobbes, is a command, not advice, and it comes from the sovereign.
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9
In a Christian state, the sovereign also governs religion
In the third part, Hobbes turns to a Christian commonwealth.
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10
Darkness grows where false doctrine and clerical ambition thrive
The last part describes a Kingdom of Darkness.
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토머스 홉스의 『리바이어던』에 관한 질문

What is Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes about?

Leviathan argues that people need a strong sovereign to escape a state of constant fear and war. Hobbes builds this from his account of the mind, language, passions and law, then applies it to religion and the Church.

What does the Leviathan stand for?

The Leviathan is the commonwealth, which Hobbes pictures as a human-made figure larger than any real person. Its sovereign is its soul, its laws are its reason, and its peace is its health. The name comes from a sea monster in the Bible.

What is the state of nature in Leviathan?

Hobbes uses it for the commonwealth that provides peace and defense. In that condition people fear each other, may attack first for safety, and cannot build industry or society. He calls it a war of everyone against everyone.

When was Leviathan written and what was the cause?

Hobbes published it in 1651, in the middle of the English civil war. His wish was to show why obedience to one sovereign keeps the peace, and why divided authority leads to conflict.

What is the social contract in Leviathan?

It is the agreement in which each person gives up the right to govern himself and authorizes one man or assembly to act for all. In return, the sovereign provides peace and protection.

이 판본 인용하기

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/leviathan-by-thomas-hobbes.

Hobbes, T. (2026). Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/leviathan-by-thomas-hobbes (Original work published 1651)

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/leviathan-by-thomas-hobbes.

@book{hobbes2026leviathan,
  author = {Hobbes, Thomas},
  title = {Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes},
  publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/leviathan-by-thomas-hobbes},
  note = {First published 1651}
}