Revolta contra o mundo mecânico: uma leitura de Carl Schmitt contra Thomas Hobbes

Abstract

This dissertation aims to make a comparative analysis between the political thought of Thomas Hobbes and Carl Schmitt. By examining Schmitt’s work The Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes, the fundamental concepts of Hobbes’ thought in his Leviathan will be scrutinized and compared with those of Schmitt’s The Concept of the Political. This research is developed, at a first level, internally to Hobbes’ work, analyzing passages from the Leviathan itself and gathering possible interpretations that support the objective of the task at hand. At a second level, it also analyzes the general concepts of Schmitt’s political thought to verify the validity of Schmitt’s interpretation of Hobbes’ political theory in the aforementioned work. In chapter I, our investigation will focus on Hobbesian epistemology, mechanistic premises and their systemic consequences. In chapter II, we will move on to the foundations of Schmitt’s political theory and finally conclude by proposing a comparative analysis. The problem that arises from the beginning is: is Schmitt’s interpretation of Hobbes’ Leviathan consistent with the English author’s thought?