An Introduction to Discourse Analysis Part II: Thomas Hobbes and the Policing of Language with Prof. Dr. Farish A. Noor
Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan is widely regarded as one of the most important works in the domain of political philosophy, and his reputation as a political theorist and thinker remains hotly contested until today.
Hobbes’ preoccupation with the threat of civil strife emanated from his belief that human nature was naturally amoral, driven by primal motivations that were self-serving and individualistic. His account of the ‘state of nature’ remains a contested topic until today, as is his solution to the problem:
The creation of a Commonwealth where individual liberties are sacrificed for the sake of stability, continuity and order.
Underpinning his political project was a theory of language that has often been neglected by many of his readers. In this lecture we will read the Leviathan closely, but we will focus in particular on how Hobbes sees language as not only a tool for communication but also as a thing that can be weaponised.
Hobbes’ theory of language is one that sees language as a tool that needs to be guarded, policed and regulated all the time- but it is also a theory that is deeply flawed, as we shall see.
