Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (English, 1651): Named after the biblical Leviathan, this book concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Written during the English Civil War, Hobbes argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that chaos or civil war — situations identified with a state of nature and the famous Latin motto Bellum omnium contra omnes ("the war of all against all") — could only be averted by a strong central government.

Presenter: Erdem
Commenter: Nottania

Date: 12 October 2011
Time: 19:15 sharp

Format:
1. Members introduction (5 minutes)
2. Club demography (2 minutes)
3. Introducing interesting books (5 minutes)
4. Brief introduction of next book (2 minutes)
5. Book presentation (20-30 minutes)
– A brief history of author’s life
– A short summary of the book
– Main/new ideas that the book brought to the society at the time that it was written
– What were the major implications/reactions at the time that it was written?
– What are the major implications on our daily lives (if any)?
6. Group discussion led by the commentator (45-60 minutes), member’s personal view about the book, opposing ideas.

At the end of the meeting, a group of us goes to a bar nearby for a drink, everyone is welcome to join.

Venue: Librairie-café Les Recyclables: 53, rue de Carouge, Genève
Tram 12/13 arrêt Pont d'Arve ou Augustin,
Bus 1/4/44 arrêt Pont d'Arve ou Plainpalais,
Parking vélo devant l'arcade,
Parking voiture sous le centre commercial Plainpalais-centre

Note: reading the book is not a "must" to attend the meeting!

Look forward to see you all!

Download the e-book from: http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/hobbes/Leviathan.pdf

To purchase the hard copy, you can send an email to Grégory in Librairie-café Les Recyclables: [email protected]

To join the club: http://www.glocals.com/#/groups/geneva/geneva-book-club-group.htm

To see the upcoming events:http://sites.google.com/site/genevabookclubgbc/event/eevents-2011

To sign up as presenter and/or commenter (please check the above web address first and only register for the books that are marked with “volunteer needed”:
https://spreadsheets0.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dDlMbUVtTnRXdW5KUVpDZ3pLUWNVX2c6MQ#gid=0