A política da loucura: paixões e sedição no pensamento de Thomas Hobbes

Abstract

This work aims to examine the role of madness in the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, considering it not merely as an individual deviation, but as a symptom of the disintegration of the political body and a sign of crisis within the civil state. Based on the hypothesis that madness represents a structural vulnerability of social order, the study investigates both its individual and collective psychological status in Hobbes's thought, as well as how certain agents — manipulators of words and passions — contribute to collective collapse through the seduction of the affects. Structured in five chapters, the work begins with a historical overview of the conceptions of madness up to its mechanistic formulation in modernity. It then analyzes Hobbesian psychology of the passions, his taxonomy of madness divided into Fury and Melancholy, and the role of orators as agents of disorder. Finally, it turns to an analysis of Behemoth as Hobbes's testimony of how madness was instrumentalized by ambitious groups to precipitate the English Civil War. Ultimately, the research seeks not only to clarify the originality of Hobbes's approach, but also to offer conceptual tools for analyzing contemporary political crises.