Revue Hybrides (Sep 2023)
Raison des lois naturelles chez John Locke
Abstract
The state of nature, in the philosophical historiography of the XVII century, is conceived, by authors, such as Thomas Hobbes, as an anomic place, a moment of absence of laws. On the contrary, John Locke, thinks that the state of nature is rational, consequently it cannot be considered as a place devoid of laws, but a place in which men find themselves forced to act in a normative way, by complying to the requirements of "natural laws". Certainly, these laws are not human prescriptions, but they are ontologically inscribed in the human nature, and they are discovered through the discursive reason of man. They even require individuals to perform their actions according to the recommendations of reasonable reason, avoiding being caught in the intricacies of negative passion.
