TITLE:
Revisiting the State of War: A Critique of Hobbesian Premises through the Lenses of Game Theory and Evolutionary Biology
AUTHORS:
Gang Qin
KEYWORDS:
Hobbes, State of War, Game Theory, Biological Altruism, Evolutionary Biology, Free-Rider Problem
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.15 No.4,
November
20,
2025
ABSTRACT: The “state of war” proposed by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan is examined, with emphasis on the extreme scenarios he posits and their potential social consequences. Using the Prisoner’s Dilemma, the Hawk-Dove game, and the Stag Hunt as analytical lenses, the limits of Hobbesian assumptions are evaluated in light of modern evolutionary theory and game theory, including insights on kin selection, reciprocity, reputation, and multi-level selection. Paradoxical reasoning in Hobbes’s treatment of rationality, including the second-order free-rider problem, is identified, indicating a lack of internal consistency under specified premises. The role of extreme baseline assumptions in biasing inference about cooperation, social order, and authority is clarified, and testable propositions are articulated to distinguish Hobbesian predictions from evolutionary models of cooperation. The analysis culminates in a revised understanding of the state as a form of cultural scaffolding for pre-existing cooperative instincts, rather than a de novo creator of social order. Finally, the trade-off between theoretical comprehensiveness and analytical incisiveness is assessed, and avenues for integrating mechanism-based explanations with normative analysis for an empirically responsible political philosophy are outlined.