Hobbes locates his hypothesized state of nature in the living present of Americas’ peoples
Evidence
It may peradventure be thought, there was never such a time, nor condition of warre as this; and I believe it was never generally so, over all the world: but there are many places where they live so now. For the savage people in many places of America, except the government of small Families, the concord whereof dependeth on naturall lust, have no government at all; and live at this day in that brutish manner, as I said before. — , Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and…, 24
Categorization
- XREF: Direct raw material for the ‘civility framing vs threat-based solidarity’ thread — Hobbes grounds his abstract war-of-all model by pointing at actually-existing others, which is exactly how the American imaginary converts a hypothetic state into an empirical present. — connects to: Hobbes read contemporary American tribes as living evidence of Europe’s own ancient past. — , Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and…, 60; Hobbes’s exclusionary frame is cultural-historical civility rather than biological race — , Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and…, 25; Hobbes consistently tied the word savage to America as its expected location — , Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and…, 54 (+2 more)
Related
- Hobbes read contemporary American tribes as living evidence of Europe’s own ancient past. (similarity 0.91)
- Hobbes consistently tied the word savage to America as its expected location (similarity 0.86)
- Hobbes frames savages as deprived of arts rather than as hostile enemies. (similarity 0.85)
- Hobbes’s prejudice against Native Americans was civilizational rather than racial. (similarity 0.83)
- Hobbes’s exclusionary frame is cultural-historical civility rather than biological race (similarity 0.80)
- Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and Its Others- American Imaginaries, State of Nature, and Civility in Hobbes (similarity 0.80)
Broader Connections
- Hobbes read contemporary American tribes as living evidence of Europe’s own ancient past.
#corroborates(0.95) — , Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and…, 60 - Hobbes consistently tied the word savage to America as its expected location
#expands(0.80) — , Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and…, 54 - Hobbes’s prejudice against Native Americans was civilizational rather than racial.
#complicates(0.80) — , Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and…, 71 - Hobbes’s exclusionary frame is cultural-historical civility rather than biological race
#expands(0.75) — , Stephanie B. Martens - Civilization and…, 25