The State of Nature and the Shaping of Modernity - Tracing the Roots of Colonialism, Secularity, and Ecology

The state of nature is a powerful idea at the heart of the fragmented and sometimes conflicting stories the modern West tells about itself. It also makes sense of foundational Western commitments to equality and accumulation, freedom and property, universality and the individual. By exploring the social and cultural imaginaries that emerge from the distinct and often contradictory accounts of the state of nature in the writing of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, The State of Nature and the Shaping of Modernity offers a fresh perspective on some of the most pressing debates of our time, showing how the state of nature idea provides a powerful lens through which to focus the complex forces shaping today's political and cultural landscape. It also explores how ideas about human nature and origins drive today's debates about colonialism, secularism, and the environment, and how they can shed new light on some of society's most heated debates.

List of contents

Introduction: the state of nature we're in; Part I. Making Sense of the State of Nature: 1. What is the state of nature?; 2. The imaginary worlds of the state of nature; 3. The theoretical figures of the state of nature; Part II. Making Sense Through the State of Nature: 4. Colonial imaginaries of the state of nature; 5. Secular imaginaries of the state of nature; 6. Ecological imaginaries of the state of nature; Conclusion: Making sense; Bibliography.

About the author

Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, Christopher Watkin is the author of French Philosophy Today (2016), Michel Serres: Figures of Thought (2020) and the multi-award winning Biblical Critical Theory (2022). He convenes the Social Contract Research Network, and edits the 'Crosscurrents' series with Edinburgh University Press.

Product details

• Authors: Watkin Christopher
• Publisher: Cambridge Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 31.12.2025
• EAN: 9781009670463
• ISBN: 978-1-009-67046-3
• Illustrations: Worked examples or Exercises
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, Political Ideologies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory, General & world history, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Environmentalist thought & ideology, 17th century, c 1600 to c 1699, Western Europe, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, General and world history, C 1600 To C 1700, C 1700 To C 1800, Western Continental Europe, Liberalism & centre democratic ideologies, Centrist democratic ideologies, Green politics / ecopolitics / environmentalism