Amour Propre
Amour Propre
What is amour propre?
What role does it play, according to Rousseau, in the Discourse on Inequality?
Literally speaking, amour propre translates: amour- love; propre- clean, or in this case, own. Own love then, or self love, similar to amour de soi, as indeed it is in Rousseau’s work. In current French usage the phrase taken as a whole would translate as self-esteem, or self respect, and with this definition we are a little closer to understanding it’s meaning in terms of the Discourse on Inequality. Opinion is divided on precisely how Rousseau would define the term, some commentators believing that it could be directly interpreted as vanity, but it seems to be more complex than simply vanity or self respect. For Rousseau it is an extension of our desire for self preservation, or amour de soi, though crucially it is a reflective trait, concerned with our standing in the eyes of others, and it encompasses vanity, pride, envy, self consciousness and a desire for status. This essay is intended to explore this reading of the term, and examine what role it consequently plays. Interestingly, it is not, in the eyes of Rousseau, necessarily negative, though as we will see, in terms of it’s manifestations in society, it is rarely otherwise.
The origins of amour propre can be traced to the origins of society. The solitary early man had no occasion to compare himself with those around him, being driven by his desire for self-preservation only, tempered by his “pitié” (a principle prior to reason) or compassion. “In fact, it is impossible to imagine why, in that primitive state, one man would have a greater need for another man than a monkey or a wolf has for another of it’s respective species”(Rousseau p.51). While instinctively adverse to seeing others suffer, his main concerns were for safety, sustenance and shelter. When external forces such as climate or population increase herded these solitary
What is amour propre?
What role does it play, according to Rousseau, in the Discourse on Inequality?
Literally speaking, amour propre translates: amour- love; propre- clean, or in this case, own. Own love then, or self love, similar to amour de soi, as indeed it is in Rousseau’s work. In current French usage the phrase taken as a whole would translate as self-esteem, or self respect, and with this definition we are a little closer to understanding it’s meaning in terms of the Discourse on Inequality. Opinion is divided on precisely how Rousseau would define the term, some commentators believing that it could be directly interpreted as vanity, but it seems to be more complex than simply vanity or self respect. For Rousseau it is an extension of our desire for self preservation, or amour de soi, though crucially it is a reflective trait, concerned with our standing in the eyes of others, and it encompasses vanity, pride, envy, self consciousness and a desire for status. This essay is intended to explore this reading of the term, and examine what role it consequently plays. Interestingly, it is not, in the eyes of Rousseau, necessarily negative, though as we will see, in terms of it’s manifestations in society, it is rarely otherwise.
The origins of amour propre can be traced to the origins of society. The solitary early man had no occasion to compare himself with those around him, being driven by his desire for self-preservation only, tempered by his “pitié” (a principle prior to reason) or compassion. “In fact, it is impossible to imagine why, in that primitive state, one man would have a greater need for another man than a monkey or a wolf has for another of it’s respective species”(Rousseau p.51). While instinctively adverse to seeing others suffer, his main concerns were for safety, sustenance and shelter. When external forces such as climate or population increase herded these solitary