If you’ve ever felt a sudden flash of anxiety when the Wi-Fi cuts out or the grocery store shelves look a little too empty, you’ve met Thomas Hobbes. Or at least, you’ve met his ghost. Most people think of philosophy as this dusty, abstract thing that happens in libraries, but Thomas Hobbes view on human nature is actually the blueprint for how we live right now. It’s the reason we have police, why we sign contracts, and why we don't just take our neighbor's lawnmower because we feel like it.
Hobbes wasn't exactly an optimist. Writing his masterpiece, Leviathan, in 1651 against the backdrop of the bloody English Civil War, he saw what happens when the "rules" disappear. He saw neighbors killing neighbors. He saw a society collapse into a heap of grief and paranoia. Because of that, his take on who we are at our core is pretty dark.
He didn't think we were inherently "evil" in a religious sense. It’s more mechanical than that. He thought we were just biological machines driven by two very simple things: the desire for power and the absolute, gut-wrenching terror of dying a violent death.
The State of Nature: A Literal Nightmare
To understand Thomas Hobbes view on human nature, you have to start with his most famous thought experiment: the "State of Nature." Imagine a world with no government. No laws. No courts. No "cancel culture" to keep you in line. Just you and everyone else, trying to survive.
Hobbes called this a "war of all against all." In this scenario, there is no right or wrong. If I want your apples and I’m stronger than you, I take them. If you’re smarter than me, you wait until I’m asleep and hit me with a rock. Life here, in his immortal words, is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
It’s a terrifying vision. He argues that without a "common power to keep them all in awe," humans have no reason to cooperate. Why would you build a house if someone can just kick you out of it the next day? You wouldn't. You’d spend all your time hiding in the bushes with a sharpened stick. This lack of industry is why Hobbes believed civilization itself is impossible without a strong, central authority.
We Are All Created Equal (In Our Ability to Kill)
Interestingly, Hobbes was a bit of an accidental egalitarian. Most thinkers of his time believed some people were born to rule because they were "better" or chosen by God. Hobbes disagreed. He thought we were all remarkably equal.
But not in a "kumbaya" way.
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He meant we are equal because even the weakest person is strong enough to kill the strongest person through "secret machination" or by teaming up with others. This equality is actually what causes the trouble. Since we are all roughly equal in ability, we all have an equal hope of getting what we want. When two people want the same thing that they can't both have, they become enemies. It's basically a permanent state of competition.
The Three Main Reasons We Fight
Why can't we just get along? Hobbes breaks it down into three specific drivers that are baked into our hardware.
- Competition. This is about gain. We use violence to make ourselves masters of other people's persons, wives, children, and cattle.
- Diffidence. This is a fancy 17th-century word for "distrust" or insecurity. If I think you might attack me tomorrow, the most logical thing for me to do is attack you today. It's a preemptive strike. It’s why countries build nukes they hope they never use.
- Glory. This is about reputation. We get offended by a "look," a different opinion, or any sign that someone doesn't value us as much as we value ourselves.
Honestly, if you look at modern social media feuds or road rage, it’s hard to argue he was wrong. We are constantly scanning for threats to our stuff, our safety, and our "brand."
The Social Contract: Making a Deal with the Devil
So, if we’re all so naturally terrible and scared, how do we have cities and art and iPhone apps? This is where Thomas Hobbes view on human nature pivots toward a solution.
We aren't just driven by desire; we are also driven by reason.
Our reason tells us that living in a state of constant war sucks. We want peace so we don't get stabbed for our shoes. To get that peace, we all agree to a "Social Contract." We basically say, "I will give up my right to do whatever I want, provided you do the same, and we’ll both hand over our power to a 'Sovereign' who will keep us both in line."
This Sovereign—the Leviathan—doesn't have to be a king. It could be a parliament or a democratic body. But for Hobbes, it had to be absolute. If the government is weak, we slip back into the "brutish" state of nature. This is why he was so skeptical of dividing power. He thought if you have two groups arguing over who’s in charge, you’re just one step away from a civil war.
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The Psychological Egoism Problem
Philosophers like Joseph Butler and later David Hume would push back on Hobbes by arguing that humans are actually capable of genuine altruism. They pointed out that we often do things for others that don't benefit us at all.
Hobbes had a cynical (and frankly, clever) answer for that. He believed all "selfless" acts are actually selfish. If you give money to a beggar, you’re doing it because it makes you feel powerful or because it eases your own discomfort at seeing them suffer. It’s called Psychological Egoism. Everything we do is a calculation to increase our own "vital motion" or pleasure.
Is that a bit bleak? Yeah. But is it a useful lens for understanding economics and politics? Absolutely.
Why Hobbes Still Matters in 2026
You might think, "Okay, but we’ve evolved. We’re better than that now."
Are we?
Think about what happens when the police disappear during a riot or a natural disaster. Think about the "Prepper" subculture that spends thousands of dollars on bunkers. That is pure Hobbesian fear. We trust our neighbors because there is a legal system that punishes them if they hurt us. If that system evaporated tonight, your relationship with the guy next door would change instantly.
Modern political science still uses "Game Theory," which is basically a mathematical version of Hobbes. The "Prisoner’s Dilemma"—where two people fail to cooperate even when it’s in their best interest because they can’t trust each other—is exactly what Hobbes was talking about in 1651.
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Misconceptions About the Leviathan
A big mistake people make is thinking Hobbes was a fan of tyranny. He wasn't a sadist. He didn't want a king to be mean for the sake of being mean. He just thought a "tight ship" was the only way to prevent a "sinking ship."
He actually believed the Sovereign had a duty to keep the people safe. If the Sovereign fails to protect your life, the contract is broken, and you have the right to defend yourself. Your "right to life" is the one thing you can never truly sign away.
Nuance: Was He Too Hard on Us?
Not everyone agrees with Thomas Hobbes view on human nature. Jean-Jacques Rousseau famously argued the opposite—that we were "noble savages" who were good and peaceful until society and property ownership corrupted us.
- Hobbes: Society saves us from our natural nastiness.
- Rousseau: Society is what made us nasty in the first place.
Most modern biology and anthropology suggests the truth is somewhere in the middle. We are a "prosocial" species. We have evolved to cooperate because humans who worked together survived better than the "solitary" ones Hobbes described. We have oxytocin, the "bonding hormone," which literally rewards us for being nice.
However, that cooperation usually only extends to "our tribe." When it comes to "the others," we can very quickly revert to that Hobbesian state of distrust.
Actionable Insights: Using Hobbes to Navigate Your Life
Understanding this perspective isn't just for passing a philosophy 101 exam. It has real-world applications for how you handle conflict and leadership.
- Design for Distrust: If you’re starting a business or a partnership, don't rely on "good vibes." Hobbes would tell you to write a bulletproof contract. It’s not because you’re a jerk; it’s because clear rules prevent the "diffidence" that ruins relationships.
- Acknowledge the Fear: In any argument, remember that the other person is likely acting out of a perceived threat to their status or safety. If you can lower the threat level, you lower the "war-like" response.
- Check Your Egoism: Occasionally audit your own "charitable" actions. Are you doing things to help, or to feel superior? Being honest about your own "Leviathan" tendencies can make you a more authentic person.
- Value the Guardrails: It’s easy to complain about "the system" or red tape. But Hobbes reminds us that the alternative—a world where everyone is a law unto themselves—is a terrifying place to be.
At the end of the day, Hobbes gives us a reality check. He’s the cold shower of political philosophy. He reminds us that peace is a fragile, artificial thing that requires constant work and a collective agreement to keep our "inner wolves" on a leash. Whether you love him or hate him, you're living in the world he described every time you lock your front door at night.
To dig deeper into how these ideas shaped our modern world, look into the works of John Locke, who took Hobbes’ ideas and added the "Right to Property," or check out Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature, which uses data to see if we’ve actually moved past our "brutish" roots.
Key Sources:
- Leviathan (1651) by Thomas Hobbes.
- The Social Contract (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (for the counter-argument).
- Human Nature and the State - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- The History of Political Philosophy - Leo Strauss & Joseph Cropsey.