Rousseau

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau // "Man is free but he is everywhere in chains." //

Life

Born 1712, Rousseau was a major figure in the enlightenment period. He was heavily influential in philosophy, with ideals deeply rooted in the Asian belief of the suppression of the individual for the greater will of the society, which he called a living breathing creature. Rousseau made astounding contributions to the development of education with his text Emile: or, On Education. Voltaire was the biggest critic of Rousseau and their rivalry is well documented. He has also made numerous contributions to music, including a newly proposed numbering system for music notation and a full length opera. More will be discussed later on his ideals and beliefs.

The Theory of the State of Nature

The state of nature is a hypothetical state of being where man is not ruled by any body of government. This can be compared to anarchism except anarchism does not state the complete lack of a government or lawlessness. Before Rousseau, Thomas Hobbe's view on the State of Nature was the norm. Before Rousseau, most philosophers believed that man is naturally wicked that is why man must enter a state of society, that is why man must enter a state of government in order to suppress the wickedness with lawfulness and justice.

Rousseau however, believed that the idea that man is evil when in the state of nature and out of the state of society was absurd. He argued that because man did not know good, man did not know evil too. He argued that man naturally has a set of moral conscience in them that allowed them to achieve virtue. He believed that society as it is now has a negative influence on the human conscience. The key to understanding Rousseau is to understand that society turns man's love of himself into pride.

This is pretty boring stuff, so here's some boobs to keep you interested:


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The Political State theory

Which brings me to my next point, the political theory is the study of how a society should be run. Rousseau believed in the suppression of the human being for the greater good of society. He argued that in the state of nature, there is no society, and thus, there is no greed or competition. He argues that competition is a deterrent on society because then, man depends on competition to survive and thrive. This dependence on competition is a degenerate to man and society as a whole. He argues that society as a whole must submit into a general will in order to progress. The double pressure of survival and freedom in an individual is too much, in Rousseau's opinion for the common man. So, he argues that we must sacrifice our individualistic nature and suppress ourselves for the good of society.

His famous quote "Man is free but he is everywhere in chains" is a summary of Rousseau's political thinking. The controversial belief that ONLY when an individual obeys the general will of the society he is in, then can he ever really be free as a human being. However, we must ask ourselves if this is the real concept of "freedom", if we really even want freedom.

Relationship with Voltaire

Voltaire was greatly offended by the fact that Rousseau believed that Arts and Science were a deterrent on society. He believed that Rousseau's view that more and more people create art not out because of self pleasure, but because of vanity; he called them peacocks.

Voltaire however, agrees that arts and science are done mostly out of vanity instead of self-fulfillment, he believed that despite that, arts and science was still not a deterrent on society. He stated that it is not the source of art that matters, but the cultural advancement that art brings that matters. Rousseau obviously believes that the source of a piece of artwork, no matter how good it is, matters a great deal.

Although Voltaire and Rousseau often argued, they were part of the same group of philosophers called the Philosophes. The Philosophes were a group of philosophical thinkers active in the Age of Enlightenment. They were all french, and they are considered one of the greatest contributors to the state of the modern state today (lol pun).

If you liked my article on Volatire, check out my youtube account where I do lame stuff like play music and make fun of victims of Hiroshima: http://www.youtube.com/kimbarklor