Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) was an English philosopher and political theorist, best known for his 1651 work Leviathan, which laid foundational ideas for social contract theory and modern political philosophy. He lived through the English Civil War, which deeply influenced his advocacy for absolute sovereign authority to prevent societal chaos. Hobbes was a polymath contributing to history, jurisprudence, geometry, optics, theology, and ethics.