Jean Jacque Rousseau 's Theory Of A Social Contract

Jean- Jacques Rousseau was born on June 28, 1712, in Switzerland. The European philosopher wrote a book called A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences. His belief is that society is corrupted by evil and that man is good in his “state of nature” (Notes). He believed that man are naturally good and if we let them act on their own instinct, that they will act their true nature. He claims that politics are evil and corrupt the society with their systems.

Rousseau believes that men in state of nature were truly free and happy. Although, to maintain this peaceful environment people enters into civil society by agreeing on social contract. This contract binds people as a community and helps to maintain the existence of mutual preservation. Rousseau by proposing social contract wants to secure civil freedom from absolutism and such restrictive governments. By doing so, Rousseau also correlates liberty with humanity since humanity is determined by actions of person.

Jean Jacques Rousseau was a French philosopher in 1712-1778. He believed that all humans are born innocent and what corrupt them and makes evil is society. He believes that if there was no society it would not make human beings feel so judged, shy or depended on others. Without society people would feel more equal they would not want to compare themselves Humans would feel freer. Rousseau thought that society weakens humans that if someone were to grow up in a natural place and place far from society they would be stronger. Compared o the people that grow up in a society they weaken.

Rousseau disagreed with the idea of natural rights being something you’re born with and believed that there are no rights by nature. In addition, he thought that the classical liberals were wrong to start from the individual because by nature humans are social creatures and there is nothing that is ours, and ours alone. Everything we are has been influenced by other human beings so there is literally nothing that we can call our own. Rousseau believed that human beings are dependant on one another for everything we have. Rousseau also believed that the right of war or conquest doesn’t exist because you can’t talk about rights when there is no choice. He also rejects Aristotle’s idea of slaves by nature. Aristotle believed people were unable to control or govern their passion with their reason which is why they needed to be ruled over. Aristotle said that, “Men are not naturally equal, but that some are born for slavery and others for dominion.” Rousseau countered with, “Aristotle was right; but he mistook the effect for the cause. Nothing is more certain than that all men who are born in slavery are born for slavery. Slaves become so debased by their chains as to lose even the

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Swiss-born French Enlightenment thinker most famous for the 1762, “The Social Contract.” “The Social Contract” is Rousseau’s most valued work due to its ties within the French Revolution.

One of the most important writers of the Enlightenment was the philosopher and novelist Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). The work of Rousseau has influenced a generation and beyond and it is argued that the main ideals of the French and American revolutions arose from his works, for example The Discourse on Equality. The main concept of Rousseau's thought is that of 'liberty', and his belief that modern society forced humans to give up their independence, making everyday life corrupt and unfree. One of the central problems Rousseau confronted is best summed up in the first line of arguably his most important work, The Social Contract.

Rousseau sees the first step of exiting the state of nature and getting closer to origin of tyranny is when man decides to leave the lifestyle of being alone and always wandering to settling down and making a house and trying to provide for his basic needs and the ones that are not as necessary as: nourishment, rest, shelter and self-preservation. This is the stage where you see the element playing a part in man’s life and in the way civil society came to be. Man is no longer just worried about himself he has to provide not only for himself but for his entire family which he is searching for. Natural man or savage man lives within himself whereas Rousseau argues that civil man lives in the judgement of others. This is one of the big reasons has to how inequality fomed. All the inequalities Rousseau does take about or basically economic things that happen in nature. This type of economic ineuality is among the many other inequalities but is one of many that inequality originated from. If man had stayed restricted to working by themselves they would have remained free, healthy, good and happy as

Rousseau is theorizing from the concept of the general will, which promotes individuals to become conscious citizens who actively participate as a community to form policies for a governing structure. The general will advocates for a commitment to generality, a common interest that will unite all citizens for the benefit of all. Rousseau states, “each one of us puts into the community his person and all his powers under the supreme direction of the general will; and as a body, we incorporate every member as an indivisible part of the whole” (Rousseau 61). The general will is an expression of the law that is superior to an individual’s

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva on June 28th, 1712. Those who were present had no clue that this child’s life would serve as a catalyst for philosophical and political reform. Rousseau’s writings had so much influence in the 18th century that he “played a significant role in three different revolutions” (52). In fact his work leaves a legacy so large that you can trace almost all modern revolutions back to his writings.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s political philosophy in The Social Contract speaks often of freedom. Some of his popular ideas are

To better understand Rousseau’s thesis and social contract he proposed, we must first understand why Rousseau felt compelled to write and his main criticism of society during the 18th century. In sum, Rousseau argued that states (specifically France, though never explicitly stated) have not protected man’s right to freedom or equality. Rousseau began The Social Contract in dramatic fashion. He wrote, “man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” (1). This quote is still used today, and is a powerful description of Rousseau’s central issue with society. He believed that every man is “born” naturally free—he has full autonomy and can do what he chooses. However, Rousseau argued that man is bound to the injustices of society.

The eighteenth century was a time period of great enlightenment that produced ideas that have influenced the political space and ideas about how to govern societies. This era of was influenced by many philosophers including John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. John Locke was an English philosopher who is credited as one of the most influential thinkers of his time. Throughout his career as a philosopher, Locke wrote the famous political work, Two Treatises of Government that described his theories on civil society. He was born in a time of political unrest in which he was growing up in the middle of the English Civil war. His work is a response to Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan in which he describes a representative democracy is superior way of governing. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Swiss born philosopher that produced the works of Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract. Although, Rousseau was a Swiss philosopher, he was most influential to the French and their

Besides the concept of liberty, Rousseau poses two concepts: the first one is the social contract based on agreements made ​​between individuals to allow a good coexistence among them, the second one is the concept of state authority as a natural right. Man's liberty is innate in every being, man is free by nature; liberty should not be alienated, but liberty must not fall into debauchery, and it must always be based in mutual agreement and the use of reason. Moreover, both natural liberty and individual conditions should be given to a ruler. People should be represented and adhere to the rules imposed by the ruler

“Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains” Explain what Rousseau means by this with reference to Rousseau’s accounts of freedom in the state of nature and in a civil society.

‘The Social Contract’ was written in 1762 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Often viewed as one of the most important philosophers during the Enlightenment Era, Rousseau wrote ‘The Social Contract’ to explain his theory of how society originated, as well as how much authority government should have over those under its power. He also explained why people within a society should have more authority when it comes to establishing laws. Rousseau concluded that Legislative and Executive bodies must be established within government to help regulate laws and the people. Throughout his writing Rousseau was able to clearly establish what the social contract actually is, as well as what the roles of governments and citizens under those governments are. By studying ‘The Social Contract’ a better understanding of how Rousseau’s ideas helped change Absolutist governments can be achieved.