Hobbes, Nicole, and the Question of Dissimulation as Recognition

Abstract This article takes a comparative approach to a positive function that Hobbes and Nicole ascribe to dissimulation: Following the norms of civility leaves the self-esteem of others intact, even when one does not believe it is well-founded. This can be understood as a kind of recognition in the sense of supporting the self-image of others. However, Nicole goes beyond Hobbes in analyzing the detrimental effects that complaisance with self-related acts of imagination can have on social life. While Hobbes takes an uncritical attitude toward identifying with acts of conquest driven by inflated feelings of self-worth, Nicole is aware of the destructive effects of inflated self-esteem. Nicole’s analysis of the limits of the usefulness of dissimulation leads him to develop a complementary conception of recognition based on an insight into shared human weakness.