Leviathan

'The life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short.' Originally published in 1651, Leviathan is a hugely influential work of political philosophy, and is still widely read and studied to this day. Written during the English Civil War, of which Hobbes had first-hand experience, Leviathan argues for political rule by an absolute authority. Hobbes claimed that human nature was, at its core, ruthless and brutal: people were selfish, self-interested and likely to cause conflict for one...