BETWEEN DIVINE AND HUMAN SOVEREIGNTY - THE STATE OF NATURE AND THE BASIS OF LOCKE POLITICAL-THOUGHT

John Locke's political philosophy teaches us that we must reconcile ou rselves to a human condition between divine and human sovereignty invo lving neither complete subjection to nor complete dominion over the na tural order. This article traces that teaching to Locke's account of t he state of nature and argues that it forms the basis of a genuinely r ationalist liberal political philosophy attentive to both the extent a nd the limits of human choice and self-creation.