A teoria da obrigação na filosofia de Thomas Hobbes

Abstract

This study aims to deepen the understanding of the central aspects of Hobbes's political theory, with a particular focus on his theory of obligation. Faced with a state of nature in which men would find themselves in a condition of war and misery, it becomes necessary to devise a strategy for individuals to exit this condition. Hobbes's proposal to extinguish the state of war is to establish an obligation of individuals to a sovereign State. According to Hobbes, men rationally deduce natural laws, which consist of theorems of reason that point to the best ways for survival. However, such laws do not have the ability to generate genuine obligation, as they cannot limit the right of nature, and then cannot be defined as laws proper. Therefore, a social contract among men is necessary for individuals to relinquish their unrestricted natural rights, transferring at least part of these rights to a sovereign. The sovereign has the role of establishing laws that are indeed obligatory, in order to fulfill its primary objective, which is to establish peace. In this way, we will see that the contract will underpin the obligation, while men will authorize this Sovereign to represent them with their actions, with the aim of freeing them from widespread war. Therefore, the proposal of this work was precisely to analyze how Hobbes's theory of obligation originates in his political thought.