State of nature

Hypothetical conditions of human life before society

In ethics, political philosophy, social contract theory, religion, and international law, the term state of nature describes the way of life that existed before humans organised themselves into societies or civilisations. Philosophers of the state-of-nature theory propose that there was a historical period before societies existed, and seek answers to the questions: "What was life like before civil society?", "How did government emerge from such a primitive start?", and "What are the reasons for entering a state of society by establishing a nation-state?". In some versions of social contract theory, there are freedoms, but no rights in the state of nature; and, by way of the social contract, people create societal rights and obligations.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA. More on occurri.