Hypothetical Politics. The Representation of Reality between Utopia and Leviathan

Authors

  • Silvia Rodeschini University of Florence

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1825-9618/7100

Keywords:

Hobbes, Harrington, utopia, Reality, Fiction

Abstract

Utopia and political science are not sharply antithetical models of approach to politics. As Hans Blumenberg points out, they were born at the same time as alternatives to the model of the Platonic philosophical inquiry, and have continued to develop in parallel. Their diversity will be illustrated by examining the role of fiction in Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan and James Harrington's Commonwealth of Oceana. Describing the different role it plays in these works, the essay shows how they both use this concept to solve the problem of the uncertainty of knowledge and the intransparency of the world.

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Published

2017-07-13

How to Cite

Rodeschini, S. (2017). Hypothetical Politics. The Representation of Reality between Utopia and Leviathan. Scienza & Politica. Per Una Storia Delle Dottrine, 29(56). https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1825-9618/7100

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 56 (2017)

Section

Mapping Utopia: Unstable Geometries of a Political Concept (edited by Gianluca Bonaiuti)

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Copyright (c) 2017 Silvia Rodeschini

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