Everything about State Of Nature totally explained
State of nature is a term in
political philosophy used in
social contract theories to describe the hypothetical condition of humanity before the
state's foundation and its
monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force. In a broader sense, a state of nature is the condition before the rule of
positive law comes into being, thus being a synonym of
anarchy.
In some versions of social contract theory, there are no rights in the state of nature, only freedoms, and it's the contract that creates rights and obligations. In other versions the opposite occurs: the contract imposes restrictions upon individuals that curtail their
natural rights.
History
Hobbes's philosophy
The concept of a state of nature was posited by the
17th century English philosopher
Thomas Hobbes in
Leviathan. Hobbes wrote that "during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they're in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man". In this state any person has a
natural right to do anything to preserve his own liberty or safety, and life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." He believed that in the international arena, states behave as individuals do in a state of nature.
Within the state of nature there's no injustice, since there's no law, excepting certain natural precepts, the first of which is "that every man ought to endeavour peace, as far as he's hope of obtaining it"; and the second is "that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far forth as for peace and defence of himself he'll think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men as he'd allow other men against himself". From this, Hobbes develops the way out of the state of nature into civil government by mutual contract.
Hobbes described the concept in the Latin phrase
bellum omnium contra omnes, in his work
de Cive.
Locke's view on the state of nature
John Locke considers the state of nature in his
Second Treatise on Civil Government written around the time of the
Engagement Controversy in England during the 1680s. For Locke, "The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it", and that law is Reason. Locke believes that reason teaches that "no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions"; and that transgressions of this may be punished. This view of the state of nature is partly deduced from Christian belief (unlike Hobbes, whose philosophy isn't dependent upon any prior theology): the reason we may not harm another is that we're all the possessions of God and don't own ourselves.
Although it may be natural to assume that Locke was responding to Hobbes, Locke never refers to Hobbes by name, and may instead have been responding to other writers of the day.
Rousseau and Marx
Hobbes's view was challenged in the
eighteenth century by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who claimed that Hobbes was taking socialized persons and simply imagining them living outside of the society in which they were raised. He affirmed instead that people were naturally good. Men knew neither vice nor virtue since they'd almost no dealings with each other. Their bad habits are the products of civilization. A similar criticism put forth by
Karl Marx is the concept of the species being, the idea that humans were getting along as a communal society of mutual benefit before class was instituted. For Marx and others in his line of
critical theory,
alienated and
abstracted social relations prevent the fulfillment of this potential.
Hume's theory
David Hume's view brings together and challenges the theories of Rousseau and Hobbes. He posits that in the natural state we're born wicked and evil because of, for instance, the cry of the baby that demands attention. Like Rousseau, he believes that society shapes us, but that we're born evil and it's up to society to shape us into who we become.
Hume turns away from Locke and Hobbes's stressed independence, instead placing the focus on the family. Hume doesn't want to go as far as Pope, describing an 'ever widening circle of affection' that's epicentre is the family. Instead Hume notices some weaknesses in family life, stating the remedy is society. However, for society to flourish it's necessary for there to be the 'Rules of Justice.' These rules are necessary due to the 'insecurity of man' that can only be remedied in justice.
20th century
John Rawls used what amounted to an artificial state of nature. To develop his
Theory of Justice, Rawls places everyone in the
original position. The original position is a hypothetical state of nature used as a
thought experiment to develop Rawls' theory of justice. People in the original position have no society and are under a
veil of ignorance that prevents them from knowing how they may benefit from society. They don't know if that'll be smart or dumb, rich or poor, or anything else about their fortunes and abilities. Rawls reasons that people in the original position would want a society where they'd their basic liberties protected and where they'd some economic guarantees as well. If society were to be constructed from scratch through a social agreement between individuals, these principles would be the expected basis of such an agreement. Thus, these principles should form the basis of real, modern societies since everyone should consent to them if society were organized from scratch in fair agreements.
Between nations
In Hobbes's view, once a civil government is instituted, the state of nature has disappeared between individuals because of the civil power which exists to enforce contracts. Between nations, however, no such power currently exists and therefore nations have the same rights to preserve themselves - including making war - as individuals possessed.
Rawls also examines the state of nature between nations. In his work the
Law of Peoples, Rawls applies a modified version of his original position thought experiment to international relations. Rawls says that people, not states, form the basic unit that should be examined. States should be encouraged to follow the principles from Rawls's earlier
Theory of Justice. Democracy seems like it would be the most logical means of accomplishing these goals, but benign non-democracies should be seen as acceptable at the international stage. Rawls develops eight principles for how people should act on an international stage.
Further Information
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