What is the liberty of subjects?

Translation: quotations from Thomas Hobbes are quoted in the 1651 English version of De Cive (Philosophical Rudiments), attributed to Hobbes himself, not his original words.

1. WHAT HE SAID (the record)

Record ledger

• BELIEF (undated; quoted in the 1651 English version of De Cive (Philosophical Rudiments), attributed to Hobbes himself): Thomas Hobbes believed that the liberty of subjects consists not in being exempt from the laws of the city, but in the cases that are neither commanded nor prohibited by laws, where each man may do or not do as he lists himself. He argued that liberty is a part of natural right granted and left to subjects by civil laws, and that laws exist to direct, not to take away, men's actions. (key quote above) [1]
• BELIEF (undated; quoted in the 1651 English version of De Cive (Philosophical Rudiments), attributed to Hobbes himself): Thomas Hobbes argues that the liberty of subjects does not differ between a popular state and a monarchy, and that subjects who demand liberty are actually seeking dominion, not liberty. He claims that subjects have no greater liberty in a popular state than in a monarchical state, and that the illusion of liberty comes from the equal participation in command and public offices. [2]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Hobbes believed that the liberty of subjects lies only in those things which the sovereign has prætermitted in regulating their actions, such as choosing their own abode, diet, trade of life, and how to institute their children. This is grounded in his argument that laws alone cannot protect people without enforcement, and that subjects enjoy liberty in actions not governed by sovereign laws. "The liberty of a subject, lieth therefore only in those things, which in regulating their actions, the sovereign hath prætermitted: such as is the liberty to buy, and sell, and otherwise contract with one another; to choose their own abode, their own diet, their own trade of life, and institute their children as they themselves think fit; and the like." [3]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Hobbes argues that the liberty of subjects depends on the silence of the law and is determined by the sovereign's discretion. He explains that subjects have liberty to act or refrain from acting according to their own discretion in cases where the sovereign has not prescribed a rule. (key quote above) [4]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Hobbes believes that true liberty is not inconsistent with self-determination, but it is inconsistent with being determined by external causes without oneself. He argues that liberty should not be questioned after a decision is made, but rather whether it was necessary before the decision was made. "It is not inconsistent with true liberty to determine itself, but it is inconsistent with true liberty to be determined by another without itself." [5]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Hobbes argues that the liberty of subjects is not the liberty to will or not to will, but rather the liberty to do if they will or not to do if they will not. He challenges the idea that liberty includes the ability to choose one's will itself. "T. H., by a new way of his own, cuts off the 'liberty of the subject', as if a stone were free to ascend or descend because it hath no outward impediment" [6]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Hobbes believed that liberty is what law leaves us, and laws are restraints by which we mutually agree to abridge each other's liberty. He argued that law and right are different, as restraint and liberty are contrary. "For right is that liberty which law leaveth us, and laws those restraints by which we agree mutually to abridge one another's liberty." [7]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Hobbes believed that liberty consists in the absence of prohibition without necessity, and that there should be no restraint of natural liberty except what is necessary for the good of the commonwealth. He also believed that liberty includes commodious passage from place to place and not being imprisoned or confined. "The commodity of living consisteth in liberty and wealth. By liberty, I mean, that there be no prohibition without necessity of any thing to any man, which was lawful to him in the law of nature; that is to say, that there be no restraint of natural liberty, but what is necessary for the good of the commonwealth..." [8]

What cuts against it

• The contrary-evidence entries are already in the record ledger above: [5].

2. HOW IT APPLIES (reasoning; inference is marked)

1. Thomas Hobbes defines the liberty of subjects as the freedom to act in cases where the sovereign has not prescribed a rule. [4]

2. He argues that liberty is not exemption from laws, but rather the absence of legal constraints in areas not governed by sovereign laws. [1]

3. The liberty of subjects is determined by the silence of the law, meaning they may act according to their own discretion in cases not regulated by the sovereign. [4]

4. Hobbes also emphasizes that liberty is a part of natural right granted and left to subjects by civil laws, and that laws exist to direct, not to take away, men's actions. [1]

5. However, he challenges the idea that liberty includes the ability to choose one's will itself, arguing that liberty is the freedom to act or not act based on one's own will, not the freedom to determine one's will. [6]

3. HIS TAKE

Record coverage: DIRECT

Extrapolation: Thomas Hobbes defines the liberty of subjects as the freedom to act in areas not governed by sovereign laws. He argues that liberty is not exemption from laws, but rather the absence of legal constraints in areas not regulated by the sovereign. This liberty is determined by the silence of the law, meaning subjects may act according to their own discretion in cases not regulated by the sovereign. However, he challenges the idea that liberty includes the ability to choose one's will itself, arguing that liberty is the freedom to act or not act based on one's own will, not the freedom to determine one's will.

Competing readings: One reading is that Hobbes defines liberty as the freedom to act in areas not governed by sovereign laws. Another reading is that he challenges the idea that liberty includes the ability to choose one's will itself. The record itself supports both readings.

Confidence: High, as the record directly addresses the question and provides clear definitions and distinctions.