Hobbes Against Friendship

This book explores why and how Thomas Hobbes the 17th century founder of political science -- contributed to the modern marginalisation of friendship, a concept that stood in the foreground of ancient moral and political thought and that is currently undergoing a revival. The study shows that Hobbes did not question the occurrence of friendship; rather, he rejected friendship as an explanatory and normative principle of peace and cooperation. Hobbess stance was influential because it captured the spirit of modernity- its individualism, nominalism, practical scepticism, and materialism. Hobbess legacy has a bearing on contemporary debates about civic, international and global friendship.