Thomas Hobbes and Political Thought in Ireland c.1660- c.1730

Abstract This is a history of political thought in Ireland c.1660–1730, told from the perspective of the reception in that country of Thomas Hobbes, the English philosopher. Unlike Hobbes, political thought in Ireland has received little attention from historians: it is sometimes assumed that there is not much of a subject to study. The reception of Hobbes in Ireland forces us to challenge this assumption. To begin with, it highlights the variety and sophistication of political thought in Ireland. In his political thought, Hobbes was preoccupied by sovereignty, which he conceptualized in terms of natural law and made the defining characteristic of the commonwealth, or the ‘Leviathan’; but he applied his concept of sovereignty to a broad range of political issues. His political thought was also part of a wider philosophical system which comprehended history, theology, natural philosophy, and mathematics. Together, the key figures in the reception of Hobbes in Ireland—Sir William Petty, John Vesey, and Edward Synge—engaged with Hobbes expansively. But the reception of Hobbes in Ireland also tells of the distinctiveness of Ireland as a context of political thought. In England, Hobbes’s concept of sovereignty was reviled for emasculating parliament, the Anglican Church, and the common law. Too compelling to ignore, the ‘Leviathan’ had to be ‘tamed’. In Ireland, where these institutions were weaker, the ‘Leviathan’ could be released. Petty, Vesey, and Synge engaged with Hobbes on issues that were not prioritized by his English readers and were more sympathetic than they to his concept of sovereignty.