Abstract
In the Second Treatise (on Civil Government), Locke makes his start from the notion of the state of nature, which is the condition of men living without political superiors. Locke regarded this state as the original condition of mankind (as will be noted in chapter 18), but he also treats it as the condition men would be in if there were no governments, and notes that independent states are, in relation to each other, in a state of nature, since there is no political superior over them all.
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Notes
Second Treatise: Two Treatises of Government, P. Laslett (ed.) 1960, § 4
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© 1973 J. D. Mabbott
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Mabbott, J.D. (1973). The State of Nature. In: John Locke. Philosophers in Perspective. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00229-0_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00229-0_15
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