Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Hobbes's theory of state demands simultaneously contradictory versions of the sovereign and the character type of the subject. In terms of the latter, the character type of the Hobbesian subject is one that must be so thoroughly egoisitic that it requires an absolute authority over it to live in peace, while, at the same time, it must not only be accepting of this authority, it must also be capable of embracing relations of mutual reciprocity with others. In terms of the former, Hobbes's sovereign must be simultaneously all powerful, above the law, and free to exercise his will and he must be incapable of interfering with the constitutional operations of the state. What I intend to argue here is that these contradictions can be theoretically surmounted if we understand that Hobbes's theory of state is held together by an underlying but unspoken affinity with Freud's theory of the primal horde. It is an affinity revealed unconsciously in Hobbes's theory of juridical interpretation.