Kierkegaard and Hobbes on the State of Nature.

This article explores the philosophical connection between Thomas Hobbes's political theory of the state of nature and Søren Kierkegaard's existentialist account of the aesthetic and ethical stages of life, focusing on the emergence of legal and ethical norms respectively. It argues that the transition from the state of nature to civil society in Hobbes's theory parallels Kierkegaard's move from the aesthetic (desire-driven, individualistic) to the ethical (norm-bound, socially committed) stage, involving not only external changes but a profound internal transformation of the self. The paper highlights the role of promises and commitments as bridges between these states, emphasizing that both legal and ethical norms are inherently social and require a reordering of desires and passions through reason and self-discipline. By reading Hobbes through Kierkegaard's lens, the article advances a maximalist (moral) interpretation of the self's freedom and transformation, challenging conventional views that see the self as static in the political transition.