Thomas Hobbes And Carl Schmitt PDF Download

This thesis examines Carl Schmitt's political theorizing. Carl Schmitt was one of modern Germany's most influential political theorists. He is most well-known for his work 'The Concept of the Political' which explicated his understanding of politics; the political is most clearly revealed in the distinction between friends and enemies. However, exactly how Schmitt conceived of the decision regarding friend and enemy as paradigmatic for an understanding of healthy politics is problematic. Schmitt presented the friend-enemy distinction in a rhetorically forceful but conceptually unclear manner. This thesis investigates whether one can coherently make sense of Schmitt's "concept of the political" and whether Schmitt's teaching regarding the political can be understood as forming a coherent whole; is there an identifiable basis or perspective which consistently informs Schmitt's thinking about what "the political" is. While there is much to be learned from previous efforts to comprehend Carl Schmitt, for the most part, these efforts have not taken into account his serious moral and theological concerns. Schmitt should be understood primarily as a political theologian; he conceived of history and politics as a field of providential struggle. Schmitt particularly viewed liberalism from such a perspective; he found in liberalism the most extensive rejection of the sovereign status of God in human affairs. In turn, the best way to investigate Schmitt's theorizing is to examine his understanding of Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes' political philosophy is central to Schmitt's theorizing. Schmitt sought to rehabilitate Hobbes as the philosopher who could be employed in comprehending the modern world. However, Schmitt, who originally thought of Hobbes as the philosopher best suited to his own project, was forced to return to Hobbes' positions which seem impious. Ultimately, Schmitt attempted to rescue Hobbes the 'vir probus' whose thinking was devout from the image of Hobbes as the creator of a new "mortal god." The consistency of Schmitt's own theorizing is reflected directly in his thinking about Hobbes. Hobbes' political philosophy is the key to understanding Schmitt's criticisms of modernity and his explication of the political and is the most important test case for investigating the political theological nature of his thought.