The Blank Slate

An Enlightenment-era philosopher who helped develop the political theory of the social contract, Hobbes’s ideas were partly based on his conception of a “state of nature,” which was a time before humans organized in societies. In this state of nature, people’s lives were extremely difficult; Hobbes described them as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (7). Government, society, and civilization were responses that moved humanity out of the state of nature. This decision was made purely out of self-interest. Humans decided to submit to a political authority that could protect them because they believed their lives would be better. In fact, for Hobbes, every human action and desire is essentially selfish. Hobbes’s philosophy refutes the idea of the Noble Savage. 

John Locke is another Enlightenment-era English philosopher. His works Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding put forth his views concerning human nature. Locke’s first treatise of government argued against the divine right of kings to rule. The second treatise concerns the social contract, which argues that all men have inherent equality. Like Hobbes, Locke presumed the state of nature was a time without government when humans were able to do whatever they pleased, but unlike Hobbes, Locke believed there was a moral law given to humans by God to which we are all bound even in the state of nature. Even though everyone is bound by the same moral laws, without social and political organization it can be difficult to resolve disputes that arise. Hierarchical power structures emerge as the best means of establishing order and ensuring justice for everyone; they provide social stability. Moreover, once these structures emerge, those who have political power also have a duty to protect those without.

We have Rousseau, a Swiss-born French philosopher, to thank for the idea of the Noble Savage. Rousseau’s idea reflects the ideals of Romanticism, which was a movement in arts and literature that valued emotion, individualism, nature, and an idealized view of the past. Unlike Hobbes and Locke, Rousseau believed that the state of nature was far preferable to civilization and that ills like violence and war are the result of humans moving away from the state of nature which, however it happened, was a mistake.