Call for papers. Special Issue - "Hobbes: Science and Politics"

2026-10-02

The philosophical community interested in modern thought is invited to submit articles for a special issue dedicated to exploring the relationships between science and politics in the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes.

For several decades, research on Hobbes has demonstrated that his political philosophy cannot be fully understood apart from his conception of science. The notion of scientia, the demonstrative ideal, the geometric model of knowledge, and discussions on method constitute fundamental dimensions of a philosophical project that seeks to think jointly about the production of knowledge and the constitution of civil order. At the same time, studies of early modernity have highlighted how scientific practices, institutions of knowledge, and methodological controversies were deeply intertwined with issues of authority, legitimacy, and political organization.

This special issue seeks to gather contributions that examine the various ways in which science and politics are articulated in Hobbes’s work, as well as their insertion into the intellectual debates of the 17th century and their subsequent reception. Submissions are welcome from the history of philosophy, history of science, political philosophy, epistemology, and related disciplines.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • The Hobbesian conception of scientia and its relation to civil philosophy;
  • The scientific method and the demonstrative model in the construction of a political order;
  • Political authority in matters of scientific knowledge;
  • The political aspects of scientific practices;
  • The controversies between Hobbes and Boyle on experimentation, testimony, and the production of knowledge;
  • Scientific institutions (universities and learned societies) within the framework of Hobbes’s political philosophy;
  • Education and scientific training in relation to the state;
  • Science, religion, and sovereignty;
  • The political implications of Hobbes’s natural philosophy;
  • Comparisons between Hobbes and other early modern authors;
  • The reception and influence of these issues in modern philosophy and the history of science.

Original and unpublished papers written in Spanish, Portuguese, English, or French will be accepted. All submissions will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process.

Deadline for submission of articles: 01 January 2027

Publication: December of 2027

Submissions must be made exclusively through the journal’s editorial platform, available on the website of Síntesis. Revista de Filosofía. The Submissions section provides information regarding manuscript format, the submission process, and the journal’s editorial guidelines.