Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher who famously summarised his pessimistic view of human nature in his greatest work, Leviathan, published in 1651. Hobbes believed that the life of humanity in the state of nature is short and brutish, a situation that can be mitigated by people coming together and handing over some of their liberty to a strong political authority, which will act in their best interests.
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Definition
Timeline
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1588 - 1679Life of the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes.
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5 Apr 1588Thomas Hobbes is born in Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England.
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1602 - 1608Thomas Hobbes studies at Magdalen College at the University of Oxford.
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1608Thomas Hobbes begins to work as a secretary for the statesman William Cavendish.
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1646 - 1649Thomas Hobbes tutors the future Charles II of England.
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1650Thomas Hobbes publishes his Elements of Law.
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1650Thomas Hobbes publishes his Human Nature.
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1651Thomas Hobbes publishes his Leviathan.
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4 Dec 1679Thomas Hobbes dies near Hardwicke in Derbyshire, England.
