What is Real Unity? The Christology Behind Hobbes's Commonwealth

Hobbes's famous expression 'real unity' from the incorporation passage of Leviathan has puzzled scholars for many reasons, not least because he strongly preferred to describe political phenomena as 'artificial' rather than 'real'. This article examines the historical usage of 'real unity' in England during the seventeenth century and finds that the expression unequivocally refers to Jesus Christ's divine representation of his church 'body'. Clarifying the precise referent of Hobbes's 'real unity' suggests that we may need to reevaluate our legalist understanding of his theory of political representation and make better attempts to reconcile his alleged materialism with his persistent invocations of the metaphysical 'body politic'.