Thomas Hobbes

About Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) was a profoundly influential English philosopher whose political thought established a foundational framework for modern political philosophy. His enduring historical importance, reflected in an HPI Rank of #355, primarily stems from his work Leviathan, where he argued for the necessity of a strong, undivided sovereign authority to maintain civil peace and prevent a 'war of all against all.' This concept of the social contract, detailing the necessity of subordinating individual will to an absolute state, remains a cornerstone in discussions of sovereignty and political obligation.

In the modern digital landscape, Hobbes receives an attention level that is remarkably aligned with his historical standing, evidenced by an Attention Gap of approximately 1x. His 549K Wikipedia views in 2025 place him in a similar bracket to other key philosophers in our comparison pool; for instance, he receives significantly less traffic than Swami Vivekananda (1.2M views, HPI #734) but more than Karl Benz (53K views, HPI #193). While his historical importance is high, the current internet attention is not dramatically skewed in either direction, suggesting a baseline level of recognition for his monumental contribution to political theory.

However, the year-over-year trend indicates a modest decline in recent engagement, with his views dropping by 13.3% over the past year, and the momentum from Q1 to Q3 also showing a 10% dip. This suggests that while he maintains a relevant, if somewhat niche, online presence, the general flow of digital interest is currently receding.