Part 2 Chapter 20 & 21 Summary and Analysis

Hobbes introduces paternal and despotical dominion. As Hobbes wrote before, a commonwealth taken by force is by acquisition. In fear of death, men surrender to the new commonwealth, which differs from institutionalized commonwealth where men choose who shall preside over them.

Dominion is acquired by generation and by conquest. Dominion by generation is the power that a parent has over his or her children. If there is no contract giving dominion to the father, then it belongs to the mother, who Hobbes states is the natural owner of the children anyways. This is because it cannot always be known who the father is, where it is always known who the mother is. Likewise, if a child does not know who his mother or father are and is raised by someone else then the person who feeds and clothes the...