ABSTRACT
Rousseauimaginesprinnt1veman"freshfromthehandsof Nature"aslivingasolitaryandisolatedlife.Thusheisbound tolackallthosecharacteristicsthatcanbedevelopedonlyin communitywithothers,andfromthepresenceofwhichallthe theoristsofnaturallawuptoDiderot(forexample,inthearticle entitled"Societe"intheE n c y c l o p e d i c ) deriveman'ssocialproclivity.Rousseau'shumananimalwasstrong,healthy,andcompletelyself-sufficient.Hecouldofhimselffulfillbothhisphysicalandhisspiritualneeds(thelatter,indeed,wereveryslight). Butthisself-sufficiency,togetherwithan"innatereluctanceto seehisownkindsuffer"-alsocharacteristicofcertainmammals -istheconditionforthep e a c e f u l n e s s ofthisprimitivestateof affairs.Ofcourse,itwaspossiblethatquarrelsshouldfromtime totimebreakoutbetweenmen,whowoulddisputeperhapsover food;butsuchconflictswouldscarcelyarisebeforetheywould besolved.I t iscertainlynotthe"stateofwar"thatHobbes describedasthenaturalcondition.8
