The term "state of nature" is used to describe and understand what the natural attributes and characteristics of human beings would have been like in the absence of civilization and enlightenment and how they would have interacted with one another in this state. This view of humans in their natural state is split between philosophers such as Hobbes and Spinoza who have a relatively pessimistic on the view of human nature, agreeing on themes such as the hazardous nature of man within the state of nature the need for a central sovereign figure but differ on their reasoning on how they come to ...

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• Approx Pages: 8
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• Grade Level: Graduate