ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the philosophical foundations of leadership as the intellectual scenery gradually becomes more glorious. Thomas Hobbes' teachings gave rise to the concept of the divine right of kings within Western society. In defense of his king against the attacks of the papacy, Hobbes held that the authority of the king is the authority of God; it cannot be questioned; there can be no appeal to a higher power. Few nations in the Western world continue to base the authority of their leaders on the divine right of kings. Hobbes notes that the king is God's only representative on earth. Such a proposal would hardly seem appropriate to a rationalist, to one who had been accused of atheistic totalitarianism. Indeed, his critics suggest that such a doctrine was most convenient for Hobbes at a time of religious turbulence when the populace was in a state of uprising against its king.
