Abstract

Hobbes is usually interpreted as being the archetypal proponent of negative liberty. He apparently argues that agents are free to the extent they are unimpeded in their actions by external physical objects. I demonstrate that Hobbes's theory of agency is considerably more complicated than previously thought and argue that he is just as concerned with internal as well as external conditions of agency. Hobbes takes us beyond his limited definition of negative liberty to discuss a type of conduct similar to modern notions of autonomous rational action. The dissertation examines Hobbes's arguments concerning many different aspects of civil society and human psychology, which when pieced together provide a fairly comprehensive liberal theory of agency