The State of Nature
Recently I’ve been drawn to read Jonathan Wolff’s “An Introduction to Political Philosophy”. But I wouldn’t call my interest in philosophy sudden. While I never acknowledge it, I have always found myself ideating utopias, from when I read Lois Lowry’s “The Giver,” to learning about communism in my sophomore year of high school. In fact, I consider it one of my favorite pastimes. My fondest memories with my brother are spending days during roadtrips arguing about whether democracy was the most idealistic approach.
But never have I taken the time to study philosophy seriously. And so I asked myself, “Why?” “Why had I not dove deeper into a subject I cared so deeply about?”
After much reflection I found the answer to stem from my lacking priorities, in my half-formed values. Coming into high school, my mind was always focused on creating this story to sell to colleges, a story of the perfect computer science student who explores their interests. And for the most part I did, diving deeper into machine learning, exploring aerospace with my rocket launches, and exploring the intersection of technology with healthcare. But I did close myself too many other passions as well.
No longer did I paint, no longer did I dance, and no longer did I debate, deeming all of these things to not fit in my story. But the truth is, they are my story. It’s these very doors that I closed off so long ago that I long to open the most.
So today I woke up and decided it’s time to explore one of these doors: philosophy.
The State of Nature is something I have questioned into existence very often, being frustrated with the systems of the status quo (such as education). The thought of their being no form of government is an interesting one, as while it seems as to inevitably end in chaos, the chance it works is hopeful.
Reading the perspectives of Hobbes and Locke have showed me how complicated the matter really is, but ultimately they both come down to human morality. Is it human nature to be moral, or to survive for oneself?
I believe at the heart, every person understands morality, and that it is more powerful than greed. But I also believe in greed, seeing its power in the status quo. I hope to gain more interest reading Rosseau next, but I hope to ultimately draft my own answer to the question of societal structure.
“Wherever law ends, tyranny begins.” — John Locke
But before I end this, I wanted to reflect on why I’m interested in philosophy, or particularly in how society is structured. And I think the answer for that lies in my love for problem-solving, as for some reason visualizing this in my hand is like putting a thousand piece puzzle together. In some universe, there is a right solution.
This story is just the start of my journey into exploring my interests, and ultimately a testament to show the liberation that comes with curiosity.