Daniel Defoe : moral relativism and the science of human nature in Robinson Crusoe 1719

Abstract EN

Nature is one of the most frequently used words in Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe.

It refers to a range of different concepts, varying from a universally recognized natural system, to human nature, in addition to humans withstanding sickness or pain.

Sometimes, Defoe projects Nature as a primarily an all self-sufficient universal system, and human nature as a product of this unerring universal scheme.

However, what Defoe agrees on in his frequent deployment of the terms Nature/ nature is its stability.

For example, according to the Defoe an perspective: to understand human nature one needs to recognize the interweaving of revealed religion with the study of human morality.

Defoe primarily identifies human nature as standing upon pillar of an unchanging moral formula already determined by God, and that any deviation from this divine dictation usually ends in disaster.