Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher born in 1588 who attended Magdalen College, Oxford for 15 years. He became secretary to Sir Francis Bacon and wrote several influential books, most notably Leviathan, in which he argued that humans are naturally selfish and that a social contract is needed to maintain order. Hobbes was influenced by Galileo and the English Civil War, and his concept of the social contract has remained highly influential in political philosophy.