Behemoth vs. Leviathan – Thomas Hobbes on the nature of a rebellion

Abstract

In the article, the author shows the true, empirical foundation of Thomas
Hobbes’s philosophical and political reflection, justifying his statolatry
formulated in Leviathan. In his opinion, Hobbes presents this foundation in
the forgotten and seldom analysed treatise Behemoth, being the narration
about the events of the English Civil War. In this treatise, Hobbes’s political
philosophy meats its social context and history creating the dialectical arrangement
consisting of empirical chaos and philosophical order identified as
two biblical beasts. For this reason both works should be interpreted as parts
of a diptych – the philosophical and empirical lecture clarifying the position
taken in Leviathan. The author also shows that in Hobbes’s opinion the true
power lies not in physical strength, but in force of ideas, which are the real
tool in the fight for power.