More than any other seventeenth century philosopher, Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) directly applied the atomism and materialism of the science of his day to metaphysics. Hobbes believed that everything in existence was caused by matter and motion. He was one of René Descartes’ (1596–1650) early critics and was considered an atheist by his peers. Hobbes is most famous for his description of the natural condition of mankind as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”