Issued as part of book collections on Project MUSE.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Modern political philosophy and prehistoric anthropology : some preliminary issues -- The Hobbesian hypothesis : how a colonial prejudice became an essential premise in the most popular justification of government -- John Locke and the Hobbesian hypothesis : how a similar colonial prejudice became an essential premise in the most popular justification of private property rights -- The Hobbesian hypothesis in eighteenth-century political theory -- The Hobbesian hypothesis in nineteenth-century political theory -- The Hobbesian hypothesis in contemporary political theory -- The Hobbesian hypothesis in anthropology -- Nasty and brutish? An empirical assessment of the violence hypothesis -- Are you better off now than you were 12,000 years ago? An empirical assessment of the Hobbesian hypothesis -- Implications.

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How modern philosophers use and perpetuate myths about prehistory The state of nature, the origin of property, the origin of government, the primordial nature of inequality and war - why do political philosophers talk so much about the Stone Age? And are they talking about a Stone Age that really happened, or is it just a convenient thought experiment to illustrate their points? Karl Widerquist and Grant S. McCall take a philosophical look at the origin of civilisation, examining political theories to show how claims about prehistory are used. Drawing on the best available evidence from archaeology and anthropology, they show that much of what we think we know about human origins comes from philosophers' imagination, not scientific investigation. Key Features Shows how modern political theories employ ambiguous factual claims about prehistory Brings archaeological and anthropological evidence to bear on those claims Tells the story of human origins in a way that reveals many commonly held misconceptions

Description based on print version record.