Abstract

SPECTOR, Horacio. Subjective and Objective Normativity in Hobbes. Rev. latinoam. filos. [online]. 2017, vol.43, n.2, pp.285-301. ISSN 1852-7353.

In this paper, I criticize Luciano Venezia's moralized interpretation of the Hobbesian concept of political obligation. I explore a different reading that avoids a clear-cut dichotomy between prudential and moral reasons and underscores instead the discontinuity between natural law's subjective normativity and civil law's objective normativity. I contend that the pact of political subjection establishes objective obligations only when the sovereign requires the fulfillment of contracts. Political obligation is then a form of legal obligation. In addition, I emphasize that Hobbes's moral community is only possible within the State.

Keywords : Hobbes; Political obligation; Normativity; Legal positivism; Social contract.

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