Thomas Hobbes

Hobbes, Thomas (1588–1679), English political philosopher who sought to apply rational principles to the study of human nature. In Hobbes's view, humans are materialistic and pessimistic, their actions motivated solely by self-interest, thus a state's stability can only be guaranteed by a sovereign authority, to which citizens relinquish their rights. Leviathan (1651), his most celebrated work, expresses these views. Hobbes saw matter in motion as the only reality; even consciousness and thought were but the outworkings of the motion of atoms in the brain. During and after his lifetime, Hobbes was known as a materialist and suspected of atheism, but in the 20th century his reputation as an able thinker has overshadowed his former notoriety.

See also: Philosophy.