Praxis Seminar Series 2025-26: Session 8

Michael Byron

Kent State University

Hobbes on Submission to God

4 November 2025, 17:15 (Lisbon Time — GMT)

Sala Mattos Romão (Room C201.J – Department of Philosophy)

School of Arts and Humanities – University of Lisbon

Abstract

In chapter 31 of Leviathan, Hobbes introduces the “Kingdom of God by Nature.” Some scholars treat this idea as mere metaphor or rhetorical device, but the text does not support such a reading. So we must ask: how exactly does one become a subject in this kingdom? Although Hobbes does not answer this question, he is clear about one thing: not all are God’s “natural subjects.” Atheists (and deists) are excluded. I will build on this lone exclusion, linking key passages where Hobbes describes God’s dominion and our obligations under natural law, in order to construct an account of God’s “natural subjects.” A central element will be what Hobbes labels ‘acknowledgment’, and explaining how God’s natural subjects acknowledge God will be a primary task of the paper.

This event is funded by Portuguese national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within the project UID/00310, Centro de Filosofia da Universidade de Lisboa