“The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Thomas Hobbes · Political philosophy
societypowerdeath
Well attested
Philosopher
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Thomas Hobbes
1588–1679 · Political philosophy · Early modern
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Thomas Hobbes, born in 1588, died in 1679, published Leviathan in 1651, in English, during the aftermath of civil war. The book builds a person, the commonwealth, by art. Power is defined as present means to a future apparent good. A restless desire of power after power is explained as a rational answer to insecurity, ceasing only in death.
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Without a common power to keep people in awe, the life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. That list describes the state of nature, not ordinary social life. The remedy is a sovereign authorised by covenant. He had translated Thucydides, argued with Descartes, and distrusted Aristotelian schools. He is not a cynic who thinks people are devils.
He thinks they are roughly equal, vulnerable, and rational enough to fear violent death, which is why peace can be a conclusion and not only a wish. Leviathan is long, systematic, and his own English. Sentences from it are unusually safe, and unusually easy to aim at the wrong target.
Start here
Leviathan, the introduction and chapters 13 and 17
The introduction shows the made man. Chapter 13 is the misery, in context. Chapter 17 is the covenant that is supposed to end it.
Quotations
“I put for a general inclination of all mankind, a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.”
Thomas Hobbes · Political philosophy
powerselfsociety
Well attested
“By art is created that great Leviathan called a Commonwealth, which is but an artificial man.”
Thomas Hobbes · Political philosophy
societypowermind
Well attested
“The power of a man is his present means to obtain some future apparent good.”
Thomas Hobbes · Political philosophy
powersocietymind
Well attested
“During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man.”
Thomas Hobbes · Political philosophy
powersocietyjustice
Well attested
Key ideas
Artificial man
The commonwealth is a person made by art, with sovereignty as its soul, not a monster the book is merely denouncing.
Power as means
Power is present means to a future apparent good, and the restless reach for more is tied to insecurity.
State of nature
Without a common power, life has the famous miserable character, which is an argument for the sovereign rather than a sneer at neighbours.
Major works
Leviathan (1651)
The English masterpiece. Introduction, chapters 10, 11, 13, and 17 are the spine.
De Cive (1642)
An earlier Latin statement of the politics, sharper and shorter than Leviathan.
The Elements of Law (written 1640)
The first version of the political philosophy, circulated in manuscript.
Influences
Influenced
Common misreadings
- Nasty, brutish, and short is his description of ordinary human life.
- The artificial man is a confession that the state is fake, rather than an account of how it is made.
Famous lines Thomas Hobbes never said
None of the lines this library files for Thomas Hobbes is marked Questionable or Misattributed. That is only a fact about these cards. It is not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
FAQ
What is the best book to start with?
Leviathan, the introduction and chapters 13 and 17 The introduction shows the made man. Chapter 13 is the misery, in context. Chapter 17 is the covenant that is supposed to end it.
What is the most famous quote?
This library does not measure fame, and it does not rank lines by how often they are shared. The first line it files for Thomas Hobbes that is not marked Questionable or Misattributed is “The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” (Leviathan, chapter 13, Well attested).
What is the most misquoted line?
None of the lines this library files for Thomas Hobbes is marked Misattributed or Questionable. That is a fact about these cards, not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
What is one key idea, in a sentence?
Artificial man: The commonwealth is a person made by art, with sovereignty as its soul, not a monster the book is merely denouncing.