Sensation produces feeling, and feeling produces decision, and decision produces action. We are all, then, machines. As long as political philosophy is built on some other principle, such as morality, the human inclination to selfishness will always result in tragedy. Since all human beings are selfish, this means that no person is really safe from the predations of his or her fellow beings. In its natural state, humanity is at war with itself.
Individuals battle other individuals in a perpetual struggle for advantage, power, and gain.
The primary purpose of society is to maximize the happiness of its individuals. The title page illustrates Hobbes's attitude towards authority and the dependence of the human community on that authority. Human beings, however, could not be trusted simply to live by their agreements. For this reason, authority was created in order to enforce the terms of the social contract. The creation of authority, by which Hobbes meant a monarch, transformed society into a state .