ABSTRACT
A more arresting account was given by Leo Strauss in an important book (The Political Philosophy of Hobbes, 1936) that did concentrate attention on Hobbes's political theory. Strauss agreed with Robertson that the 'main lines' of Hobbes's political doctrine were fixed before he thought out his mechanistic philosophy, but Strauss went a good deal further than that. Hobbes's general philosophy is reflected in the political theory not only as a theory of knowledge and reality but also as a doctrine of method; Hobbes believed that the method of science was the right method of acquiring knowledge in any field. Now Strauss argued that what Hobbes derived from natural science contributed nothing of real importance to his political philosophy. The method no less than the metaphysics was irrelevant.
