Jean-Jacques Rousseau Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Essay ExampleNatural inequality involves differences between one populaces strength or intelligence and that of an separate - it is a product of nature. Rousseau is not concerned with this type of inequality and wishes to investigate moral inequality. He argues this inequality is endemic to a civil society and relates and causes differences in role and wealth. This type of inequality is established by convention. Rousseau appears to take a cynical view of civil society, and refers to times before the current body politic of civil society, when while was closer to his natural state, as happier times for man. To Rousseau, civil society is a trick perpetrated by the powerful on the weak in order to halt their power or wealth. But this is Rousseaus end product. He begins his discussion with an analysis of a natural man who has not yet acquired language or knock off thought.Rousseaus natural man possesses a few qualities that altogetherow him to distinguish himself from the animals over a long period of time. Of extreme importance is mans ability to choose, what Rousseau refers to as the free-agency that differentiates him from other animals. Mans ability to refuse instinct pushes him along the path out(p) of his natural state. In addition, Rousseau argues that another principle which has escaped Hobbes is mans compassion. This quality of man also motivates him to interact. And finally, man possesses the quality of perfectibility which allows him to improve his surroundings. Mans contact with other men leads him to develop amour propre which is in a sense a moral me that creates concern for how others perceive him. intimacy proper has four consequences (1) competition, (2) self-comparison with others, (3) hatred, and (4) urge for power. These all lead to Rousseaus cynical civil society. But amour proper already suggests a significant step out of the state of nature (http//www.radicalacademy.com).Perhaps Rousseaus some important work is The Social Contract, which outlines the basis for a legitimate political order. Published in 1762 it became one of the most influential works of abstract political thought in the Western tradition. Building on his earlier work, such as the Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau claimed that the state of nature eventually degenerates into a brutish condition without law or morality, at which point the human race must adopt institutions of law or perish. In the degenerate phase of the state of nature, man is prone to be in frequent competition with his fellow men while at the comparable time becoming increasingly dependent on them. This double pressure threatens both his survival and his freedom. According to Rousseau, by joining together through the hearty contract and abandoning their claims of natural right, individuals can both preserve themselves and remain free. This is because submission to the authority of the general will of the people as a whole guarantees individuals again st organism subordinated to the wills of others and also ensures that they obey themselves because they are, collectively, the authors of the law. In the words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the general will is different from the will of all the general will considered the common interest, while the will of all considered the private interest, a sum of