What Can the State of Nature Justify?

Philosophy &amp Public Affairs 2026 Open access

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Authors: Arthur (Hongyang) Yang
DOI: 10.1111/papa.70014
Cited by: 0
References: 25

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social contract theory is one of the most popular approaches to political justification. While the state of nature account in social contract theory is generally invoked to justify the state's authority, I argue in this paper that no extant account succeeds in doing so. The primary reason, I argue, is that extant state of nature theories fail to capture an empirically plausible account of human life under stateless conditions. This failure undermines the justificatory force of these theories. Instead, I argue that extant state of nature accounts are best understood as attempts to justify morality or authority in general.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Political Philosophy and Ethics Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought Philosophical Ethics and Theory

Publication details

Journal / source
Philosophy &amp Public Affairs
Volume
54
Issue
2
Pages
116–128
Publication date
11 January 2026
Language
EN