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The other ‘Hobbes’ people’: An alternative reading of Hobbes
Journal of Classical Sociology. 2013. Vol. 13. No. 1. P. 113–135.
This paper argues that while Hobbes has been very influential in sociological thinking, in particular through the influence of Ferdinand Tönnies and Talcott Parsons, there is an important alternative reading of Hobbes that one might call the ‘real’ Hobbes, which has remained unknown to social theory. Because these classical readings of Hobbes still inform most social theory, sociologists are in effect trapped within them. Through a careful analysis of classic interpretations of Hobbes by Tönnies and Parsons, coupled with a close reading of Hobbes’ actual texts, and his criticisms of Aristotle, this paper will suggest that a different understanding of the ‘people’ who populate Hobbes’ social universe is possible. It will be suggested that this new understanding of Hobbes also makes the contemporary understanding of the history of political philosophy more fruitful for theoretical sociology.
Research target:
Sociology (including Demography and Anthropology
Philosophy, Ethics, and Religious Studies
Priority areas:
sociology
Language:
English
Publication based on the results of:
Shams S., International Review of Sociology 2026 Vol. 36 No. 1 P. 262–289
Vertical disintegration reshaped economic activity and especially
employment, with the rise of contractual networks for the
production and distribution of goods and services that were once
under direct corporate control. With minor exceptions, much of
the recent research shows the decline in working conditions that
accompanies the demise of promotion trajectories, predictable
pay, and generally retentive labor practices that were a ...
Added: June 27, 2026
Shams S., International Sociology 2026 Vol. 4 No. 2 P. 183–190
The socioeconomic gap between the top earners and the remainder of the population has
expanded dramatically in the past few decades. Social scientists have been examining this issue
from several theoretical and empirical perspectives. Recently, the observation that the extent
and type of current global inequality is paralleling that of medieval feudalism is gaining a foothold.
This essay examines ...
Added: June 27, 2026
Рахманова Л. Я., Этнографическое обозрение 2026 № 3 С. 100–121
This article has a three-level structure: starting with specific examples in the field of food ethnography, I move on to the level of classifications that differentiate between raw and cooked, edible and dangerous, and alive and dead. This narrow focus on classifications, which has been used in anthropology for decades as a working language for ...
Added: June 25, 2026
Zhdanov V., Antrushina K. T., Philosophies 2026 Vol. 11 No. 4 Article 102
This study presents an interdisciplinary examination of the intersections between human capital theory, philosophical interpretations of property, and contemporary housing and aspirational patterns in Germany and the United Kingdom. Drawing upon classical economic thought, Hegel’s philosophy of right, and Marx’s theory of alienation, the analysis demonstrates that falling homeownership rates and the reorientation of youth ...
Added: June 25, 2026
Makeeva L., Философский журнал 2026 Т. 19 № 2 С. 68–82
The article seeks to assess the philosophical significance of experimental philosophy, which emerged at the very beginning of the XXI century, using, as an example, the prob lem of the reference of proper names, the decisions of which in the descriptive and causal-historical approaches have come into conflict. It is argued that the philosophy of ...
Added: June 24, 2026
Tulaeva S. A., Semushkina E. S., Мир России: Социология, этнология 2026 Т. 35 № 3 С. 47–75
Most studies investigating involvement in collective action in environmental protection relate it either to general sociocultural attitudes in society at the macro level or to the strategic actions of eco-activists in specific cases at the micro level. In the first case, this makes it possible to explain variations in environmental actions between different societies/countries; in ...
Added: June 23, 2026
С.Н. Кочеров, Диалог со временем 2026 № 95 С. 5–21
The article presents arguments in defense of free will. It criticizes the approach based on the concept of physicalism, from the position of which rigid incompatibilists reduce human consciousness to the activity of brain neurons, and processes at all levels of being to physical laws. Although physical laws and unconscious brain activity condition human decisions ...
Added: June 23, 2026
Kosmarsky A., Напреенко И. В., Journal of Cultural Economy 2026 P. 1–4
Added: June 23, 2026
Alexander V. Mikhailovsky, Journal of Responsible Innovation 2026 Vol. 13 No. 1 Article 2677286
This article examines a paradigm shift within Responsible (Research and) Innovation (R(R)I) scholarship towards a more profound political-philosophical and ontological critique. Engaging with the articles of Doezema and Frahm (2023), Penttilä (2024), and Braun (2024), from the collection on “Critique in, for, with, and of Responsible Innovation”, this response substantiates the thesis that institutionalized RI ...
Added: June 23, 2026
Denisenko M. B., Kvasha E. A., Хавраева Ю. В., Демографическое обозрение 2025 No. ENGLISH SELECTION 2025 P. 1–25
For a long historical period, infant mortality has significantly contributed to the overall mortality rate of the population in Russia and its regions. This article examines the dynamics of infant mortality in the capital, Moscow, from 1939 to 1949. It analyses changes in the structure of infant mortality by age at death and causes of ...
Added: June 22, 2026
Ganzha A. G., Логос 2026 Т. 36 № 1 С. 39–48
Редакторская статья к блоку публикаций и переводов, посвященных звуковым эпистемологиям. Статья последовательно излагает роль и место каждого участника специализированного выпуска журнала и описывает принципы отбора материалов и переводов. ...
Added: June 21, 2026
Baysha O., Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Философия и конфликтология 2026 Т. 12 № 1 С. 107–117
The article analyzes which of the fundamental postulates of the discourse theory by Ernes-to Laclau and Chantal Mouffe found their development in Laclau’s theory of populism and Mouffe’s theory of agonistic democracy. Three basis components of the discourse theory are considered. These are discursive mechanisms by which certain meanings are fixed; the theory of collective ...
Added: June 21, 2026
Бернацкий М. М., Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета. Серия 3: Филология 2026 № 83 С. 81–100
This publication offers an annotated translation of Jacques Goar’s notes on the epiclesis from his Euchologion (1647). The translation is accompanied by an introduction that places Goar’s text within the historical and polemical context of Greco-Latin controversies on the moment of consecration, particularly the epiclesis debate at the Council of Florence (1439). Goar’s interpretation, rooted ...
Added: June 21, 2026
Lisanyuk E., Прокудин Д. Е., Баймуратов И. Р., Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Философия и конфликтология 2026 Т. 42 № 1 С. 118–130
The process of reviewing scientific publications is hampered by the constant increase in the volume of submissions and the bias of reviewers. Artificial intelligence can speed up the scientific review process, but it is also capable of reproducing the biases embedded in the training data. We propose a formal method for representing and analyzing arguments, ...
Added: June 21, 2026
Kazun A. D., Мир России: Социология, этнология 2026 Т. 35 № 3 С. 101–121
This study analyzes interviews with news avoiders to identify the underlying motivations for this behavior. News avoidance is interpreted by informants as a purposeful action—a deliberate, rational choice based on an assessment of the benefits of news and the costs of consuming it. While interviewees predominantly cite the negative impact on emotional well-being and physical ...
Added: June 19, 2026
Humphrey N., Философский журнал 2026 Т. 19 № 2 С. 99–106
Sensations represent our subjective ‘take’ on sensory stimulation – how we feel about redlight falling on the retina, salt dissolving on the tongue, a thorn piercing the skin. Theytell – in the language of phenomenal properties – what the experience is like for us. In sofar as they represent the reality of this subjective relationship, ...
Added: June 19, 2026
Gorbachev M., Философский журнал 2026 Т. 19 № 2 С. 107–117
This is a commentary to the translation of Nicholas Humphrey’s article “Redder thanRed. Illusionism or Phenomenal Surrealism?”, where he proposes what might seem to bean alternative to the illusionist theory of consciousness – phenomenal surrealism. Hismain idea is that our subjective experience is more real than objective reality, sincethelatter lacks, for example, the funny, the ...
Added: June 19, 2026
Pereyaslov A., Коммуникации. Медиа. Дизайн 2024 Т. 9 № 2 С. 109–131
Автор статьи предлагает расширить понимание креативности в поле исторического материализма. Приводятся примеры отражения внеэконмических проявлений креативности в различных гуманитарных науках. Особый акцент делается на теории социального действия и социологической теории креативности Х. Йоаса. ...
Added: June 19, 2026
Pruzhinin B. I., Afanasov N., Буданов В. Г. et al., Вопросы философии 2026 № 5 С. 5–35
In December 2025, the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted an international roundtable on the topic “Social Programming as a Methodological Tool of Network Self-Organization: Problems and Trends”.
The roundtable was organized by the journal “Voprosy Filosofii” and representatives of the research project No. 25-28-00707, “Social Programming as a Problem of Network ...
Added: June 18, 2026
Besschetnova E., Zhukova M., Patria 2026 Т. 3 № 2 С. 141–147
This publication introduces into academic circulation a review by the thinker and
later priest Sergei Mikhailovich Solovyov (1885–1942) of Lev Platonovich Karsavin’s book
‘‘East, West and the Russian Idea’’, published in Petrograd in 1922. The text, preserved in the
Manuscript Department of the Russian State Library, is not merely a contemporary’s opinion but
a dramatic document of its era, ...
Added: June 18, 2026
Dvoinin A., Natural Systems of Mind 2025 Vol. 5 No. 4 P. 4–21
Background and Problem. The psychology of religion has traversed a long and non-linear historical path, experiencing an initial flourishing (1880–1920), a subsequent decline, and a significant resurgence since the 1990s. Despite this renewed growth, driven by advances in genetics, neuroscience, and cognitive science, a comprehensive overview of the development of natural science perspectives within the field—from their origins ...
Added: June 17, 2026
Kravtsova M., Musaev A. U., Welzel C., / Series "SSRN Working Paper Series". 2026.
Elaborating on Welzel et al.'s "Cool Water Theory," our study zooms into the more limited (albeit still varied) framework conditions of Russia's huge territory. Within Russia's confines, we examine how the combination of moderately cool seasons with steady rain (i.e., Cool Water) affects sub-national areas' contemporary societal progress in two modernization indicators: material prosperity in ...
Added: June 3, 2026
Syukiyaynen L., Проблемы национальной стратегии 2026 № 2(95) С. 202–219
The article analyzes the specific features of Islamic law at the current stage of the Arab East countries’ development. The author notes that the main directions of the law’s evolution are determined by the interaction of two key factors – commitment to traditional Sharia guidelines and the influence of recent global trends. Their combination manifests ...
Added: June 2, 2026
Vorchik A., / SSRN. Серия Social Science Research Network "Social Science Research Network". 2026.
This work is devoted to a theoretical explanation of the Easterlin paradox, according to which long-term economic growth does not make average level of people's happiness increasing. By happiness, we mean the intensity of emotions people experience while comparing their new income with its expected value, or the target income with its original value. In the first case, ...
Added: May 31, 2026