What makes Hobbes a materialist? How might this
affect what he writes?
Hobbes is medieval as well as thoroughly modern in his theory of knowledge:
how does he believe humans learn?
Since Hobbes doesn't believe in God (at least in the sense most of his
colleagues did), what position does he take on free will? Why might this
be surprising?
Why does Hobbes see government as so important?
Hobbes writes during the short period of the British republic. How might
his work provoke Royalists and Puritans alike?
What is Hobbes' attitude toward nature? How is it related to government?
What analogy does Hobbes use for government? How does this reflect the
beliefs of his time?
In its organization, how does Leviathan compare with the Anatomy of Melancholy?
What are, for Hobbes, the three reasons for violence among humans?
How does Hobbes argue that there is no such thing as injustice?
What are the first and second natural laws for Hobbes?
How does Hobbes define injustice and how is this related to the need for
government?
How does Hobbes' essay reflect the political situation of his time (the
recent end of a civil war and the execution of a monarch; the formation
of a short-lived republic)?