Born on the day of the invasion of the Spanish Armada, Thomas Hobbes himself said that he was born the twin of fear. Living in the turmoil of the ongoing English Civil War, Hobbes lived in fear and uncertainty. When he became convinced that the English Parliament was going to turn against King Charles I, Hobbes fled to France, where he later wrote Leviathan, his most important work, considered one of the most important political and philosophical texts. influential people of the 17th century. In this work, and more broadly in Hobbes's political thought, the effects of fear play a clearly central role in the formulation of his theories. It is clear that Hobbes perceives and applies fear, both as a catalyst for chaos and as a force for good. Referring to human nature, Hobbes argues that in a trivial anarchic society, people would live in constant fear, which would motivate them to commit criminal acts for the sake of their own survival or well-being. He also emphasizes that a certain fear of Leviathan, the supreme ruler, is necessary to engender loyalty and maintain respect. Fear therefore plays an important but versatile role in Hobbes's political thought. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayStarting from the principles of self-preservation and through its distinction between the law of nature and the right to nature, Hobbes founded the basic principles of his political thought. He said the fear of death and compromising personal safety, survival and security would surpass all others. From this premise, Hobbes then deduced that the nature of humanity was brutal and individualistic, unless governed by a strong central power. Hobbes declared that in the chaotic anarchic society that would eventually emerge in the absence of such a central power, men's lives would be characterized by continual fear and would be "lonely, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" (Hobbes, 82). With an inherent shortage of resources, perpetual conflict would emerge, pitting all individuals in society against each other. Hobbes stated that this conflict would then be difficult to end because no human possesses complete physical or mental superiority and, from a global perspective, humans must be considered very equal in strength and ability. He strengthens this argument by applying it to respect for contracts. Hobbes argues that in an anarchist society, contracts and alliances would not be honored, or would only be honored for a brief period of time. If one of the parties then suspected the other of wanting to break the contract, they would act preventively. Therefore, it is clear that Hobbes places significant value on fear and its effects on human decision-making, and attributes much of the turmoil and uncertainty to the importance of fear, in the absence of a strong centralized governing power. Hobbes posited that to maintain security and peace, the people would have to sacrifice a number of freedoms and liberties and respect the authority of Leviathan. Highly authoritarian and omnipotent, the Leviathan is described as a leader with uncompromising legitimacy, as long as he serves to protect and govern his people, and as a leader free to rule in an absolutist manner. Hobbes states that Leviathan's command must always be obeyed, lest it conflict with personal survival and unless Leviathan no longer serves to protect his people. Therefore, it is clear that Hobbes argues that the people should, to some extent, fear their leader, so as to strengthen their loyalty and.