Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy: Challenging Stone Age Stories

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.

Author: Karl Widerquist,Grant S. McCall
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Published: 08/12/2018
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781474437790

About the Author
Karl Widerquist is Associate Professor in Political Theory at Georgetown University.

Grant S. McCall is Assistant Professor in Anthropology at Tulane University.