Q. Where can I find some information about the political philosophy concept of a "state of nature"?

A good way to find more information about this concept is to seek out resources by or about the philosophers most commonly associated with it.  Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all wrote about the concept and had differing views on it.  Britannica and Credo, available through the links below, both have overviews of each of these philosophers' work.  Britannica also has an article about the law of nature that devotes some coverage of the concept.  Online philosophy dictionaries or encyclopedias such as Stanford's also are good places to look.

Books and eBooks are also available about the concept.  For all books, follow the link below to OneSearch.  You could try searching for particular names like Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau (or all three at once), or for philosophy dictionary, or for phrases such as law of nature. You also could try looking exclusively for eBooks through the link below to our eBook collection, since this allows you to search the entire text of each book.  That way you can retrieve all books that have the term in it by searching for "state of nature" (include the quotes). 

Articles are also available about the concept through our academic databases.  Follow the link below to our databases guide and select the Social Sciences page.  Then select a database to search.  In the databases, try searching for "state of nature", or the names of one of the philosophers mentioned above, or a combination of these terms.