The state of nature is an idea which became especially popular with certain philosophers during the Enlightenment, notably Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). It refers to a state of existence before humans joined together to make formal societies when they gave up certain individual rights in favour of collective government by forming a social contract.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/State_of_Nature/.