All about Rousseau
Jean Jacques Rouseaau. Born in Geneva in 1712, was a famous philosopher, writer and composer of the 18th century. His political philosophy greatly influenced the French revolution and his legacy still remains with us as the overall development of sociological, modern political educational thought.
Rousseau’s view on human nature is quite interesting. As Rousseau discusses in one of his most famous work’s: The Social Contract, the state of nature is the hypothetical, prehistoric place and time where human beings live untouched by society. The most important characteristic of the state of nature is that people have full physical freedom and are at liberty to do as they wish. He believed that humans were essentially good when in their natural state before civilization, but thought humans were eventually corrupted by society. Unfortunately, the human nature also has a disadvantage that is that human beings have yet to discover rationality and morality. Also, Rousseau’s interpretation of the state of nature is entirely more positive than Hobbes’s thoughts on the same idea, who originated the term. He viewed the state of nature as almost a state of war and savagery. The two philosophers both had altering views of human nature, which Rousseau viewed as somewhat good and Hobbes saw as cruel and brutal. An important thing to add is that Rousseau recognized that even though we cannot ever return to the state of nature, understanding the concept will help society’s members be able to realize their natural goodness easier. Now, let’s move on to what Rousseau thought was the ideal form of government. He believed that the answer was direct democracy. In the opening line that still strikes us today of his famous work, the social contract as mentioned before is “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains,” Rousseau and Locke both agreed that individuals should never be forced to give up their natural rights to a king. According to Rousseau, the state as it currently
Rousseau’s view on human nature is quite interesting. As Rousseau discusses in one of his most famous work’s: The Social Contract, the state of nature is the hypothetical, prehistoric place and time where human beings live untouched by society. The most important characteristic of the state of nature is that people have full physical freedom and are at liberty to do as they wish. He believed that humans were essentially good when in their natural state before civilization, but thought humans were eventually corrupted by society. Unfortunately, the human nature also has a disadvantage that is that human beings have yet to discover rationality and morality. Also, Rousseau’s interpretation of the state of nature is entirely more positive than Hobbes’s thoughts on the same idea, who originated the term. He viewed the state of nature as almost a state of war and savagery. The two philosophers both had altering views of human nature, which Rousseau viewed as somewhat good and Hobbes saw as cruel and brutal. An important thing to add is that Rousseau recognized that even though we cannot ever return to the state of nature, understanding the concept will help society’s members be able to realize their natural goodness easier. Now, let’s move on to what Rousseau thought was the ideal form of government. He believed that the answer was direct democracy. In the opening line that still strikes us today of his famous work, the social contract as mentioned before is “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains,” Rousseau and Locke both agreed that individuals should never be forced to give up their natural rights to a king. According to Rousseau, the state as it currently