From humanism to Hobbes
Subtitle: studies in rhetoric and politics
By: Quentin Skinner (Queen Mary University of London)
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 432
ISBN-13: 9781107128859; 9781107569362
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: Criticism and interpretation; Rhetoric; Political aspects; Humanism in literature
Description: The aim of this collection is to illustrate the pervasive influence of humanist rhetoric on early-modern literature and philosophy. The first half of the book focuses on the classical rules of judicial rhetoric. One chapter considers the place of these rules in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, while two others concentrate on the technique of rhetorical redescription, pointing to its use in Machiavelli's The Prince as well as in several of Shakespeare's plays, notably Coriolanus. The second half of the book examines the humanist background to the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. A major new essay discusses his typically humanist preoccupation with the visual presentation of his political ideas, while other chapters explore the rhetorical sources of his theory of persons and personation, thereby offering new insights into his views about citizenship, political representation, rights and obligations and the concept of the state.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 384-422) and index.