Was English Philosopher Thomas Hobbs right on the motivations of man ?

Up to a point but he provided a starting point for others to elaborate, develop, and supercede his ideas.

Fear can be a powerful motivator, but selfishness is a weakness

Hobbes = hedonism; Hobbes anticipated Kant (and modern neurophysiology) by positing that sensations ---> simple awareness ---> more complex awareness (ideas, simple, ---> complex).

Hobbes posited +/- or attraction/aversion as developing of body sensations; more complex hedonist +/- develop a la the same "--->" sequence noted above.

Hobbes posited mechanistic process with emotions able to override thoughts, hence people in societies needed total supervision (apparently Hobbes found no evidence of God/Kantian moral awareness within).

If one's perception of mankind is limited to Hobbes' theory, then one may leave out God or altruism, etc., and even Maslow's functional research: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_o...