Which philosopher proposed the noble savage concept?

• A. John Locke
• B. Karl Marx
• C. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• D. Thomas Hobbes

Answer: (C)

The noble savage idea critiques civilization by suggesting humans are inherently good in a natural state, with corruption arising from social life, property, and institutions. Jean-Jacques Rousseau is the philosopher who popularized this notion, arguing that people in a state of nature are free, equal, and guided by pity, and that modern society perverts this natural goodness through inequalities and complex social rules. He used this contrast to challenge how societies organize themselves and to support ideas about collective will and legitimate political authority.

This concept doesn’t come from the other thinkers here. Thomas Hobbes painted the state of nature as violent and chaotic, needing an absolute sovereign. John Locke discussed natural rights and property within a framework of provisional government, but he didn’t emphasize a pristine, noble natural state in the same way. Karl Marx focused on economic class structures and the critique of capitalism, not a romanticized natural man.