Abstract

Hobbes’s remarks on the question of friendship have given rise to a few discordant interpretations. This essay will show that Hobbes places friendship on the margins of the political scene by making three relevant theoretical moves. According to Hobbes’s first move, friendship is possible only in the State as it is no longer understood in an Aristotelian way as the foundation of the political community. Hobbes’s second move makes clear that friendship is not a constitutive element of the State because it is no longer conceived as the model of the social bonds among citizens. Hobbes’s final move highlights that friendship can constitute a dangerous and not eradicable source of corruption for the State. As the conclusions will make clear, to better understand Hobbes’s complex conception of friendship it is therefore not enough to dwell on his analysis of human nature, but it is also necessary to cope with his conception of the State.