Concerning “men’s affections to Godward”: Hobbes on the First and Eternal Cause of All Things

• Published in: Journal of the history of philosophy 2016-10, Vol.54 (4), p.547-571
• Main Author: McIntyre, R. W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atheism; Fiction; Hobbes, Thomas (1588-1679); Names; Nature; Philosophers; Philosophy; Reasoning; Religion; Theory
• ISSN: 0022-5053; 1538-4586; 1538-4586
• DOI: 10.1353/hph.2016.0070

In several places Hobbes gives what appears to be a version of the cosmological argument. According to one popular interpretation, these are not actually arguments at all, but are naturalistic descriptions of a psychological process. Advocates of this interpretation see this as an ironic criticism of religion, claiming that the psychological story implies that God is a human fiction; hence, it is evidence of Hobbes's atheism. Such interpretations are unsatisfactory. I argue for a novel, non-ironic psychological interpretation. Hobbes describes a process that does not justify belief in God, but nevertheless involves rational activity. It is psychologically impossible to withhold belief in a first cause while engaged in a certain kind of activity-reasoning correctly and profoundly about the natural world. But because this process is regulated by reason and method, the natural philosopher need not have any qualms about holding the belief.