My (Burr Cook) ancestors, the Gates family, a large number of which are buried at Hopewell, were early settlers in the area, coming from Keene NH. Route 20, passing through the middle of the township, was at that time a log road and the first toll turnpike in the state long before the thruway was thought of.
State of Nature. State of nature refers to a condition in which there is no established political authority. It is essentially a state of complete freedom. Political theorists have used it to better understand human nature and, typically, to justify the rationality of a particular type of government.
This is why the state of nature was a state of war. Lockeâs claim is that individuals have a duty to respect the rights of others, even in the state of nature. The source of this duty, he says, is natural law. The difference with Hobbes is clearest in Lockeâs argument about property. Hobbes and Locke agree that individuals have a right to property in the state of nature, but Hobbes denies that individuals have any duty to respect the property of others.