The Leviathan marked the beginning of modern political philosophy, and is the most famous single work in English political thought. This guidebook offers a clear, accessible and judicious account of Hobbes, as a philosopher and theorist of state, and guides the reader through the major interpretations of the Leviathan. The book covers discussions of epistemology, scepticism, law, right and the state of nature, and the main problems of contract, authority and representation, legality, liberty, tolerance, reason and rhetoric.