The Significance of Modern State of Nature Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6355697 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Grafstein (0000-0002-7816-7092, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 529-550 |
| Publication date | 1987-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Polity (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-3497 • E-ISSN: 1744-1684 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3234702 |
| OpenAlex | W2322529550 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
State of nature theory has been widely criticized as implausible. This article argues that, by concentrating on its lack of realism, critics miss the humanizing significance of the theory. State of nature theory, inaccuracies and all, challenges the common and deeply entrenched view that there are political facts, or political entities such as institutions, states, and systems, that in some important sense transcend the human beings acting politically. In particular, the author insists, state of nature theory represents an argument for the individualism it is usually believed to presuppose, and it therefore continues to challenge those who do not embrace it to clarify their understandings of politics and its relation to human freedom
Argument (complex analysis · Epistemology · Individualism · Methodological individualism · Political philosophy · Political science · Politics · Realism · Relation (database · Sociology · State (computer science · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,03 |
| Citation span | 1990 - 1990 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |