Thomas Hobbes
1588–1679 · English · Early Modern Period
Known for: Argued that without government, life would be 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short'—and lived to 91 to spite his own pessimism
Pessimistic about human nature, fearful, and intellectually combative. His mother gave birth prematurely from fear of the Spanish Armada; Hobbes said 'fear and I were born twins.'
His Leviathan argued for absolute sovereignty through social contract. He quarreled with nearly every major thinker and lived to 91 despite his gloomy outlook.
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