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Locke Vs Rousseau Essay

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During the enlightenment philosophers came together during the eighteenth century where science, communications, politics, and philosophy were analyzed. Philosophers examined the authority of Europe as well as attempted to improve humanity. Philosophers composed books, discoveries, and theories to help improve society. John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau were two philosophers that had analogous thoughts. Locke believed in individual liberties, natural rights, and constitutionalism. Whereas Rousseau similarly thought that people of the time were corrupted by the change of society. During the enlightenment John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau played an important role by influencing people with their natural beliefs and believed that there was …show more content…

Both had perspectives that were based on what they thought were best for the people. Rousseau is most well-known for his theory of the social contract. “The government is an intermediary set up between the people as law followers and the people as law creators, the sovereignty” (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2004b). Therefore stating that the people can express their feelings without further consequence. He enabled the citizens to be free and natural. Rousseau put forth that everyone had an equal say and because of this Social Contract, if the government were to make a bad decision, the people could back out and make a government for themselves. Locke similarly believed “the state is concerned with the public good, protecting life, liberty, and property. It has no authority of the spirit,” (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2004a). He intended to protect the commonwealth of the people. Locke made sure to lock down the basic natural rights of a human being. Locke was a well-known philosopher for his piece, The Essay. He philosophized “the physical consideration of the mind, … wherein its essence consists, or by what motions of our spirits or alterations of our bodies we come to have any sensation by our organs or any ideas in our understandings, and whether those ideas do in their formation any or all of them depend on matter or no," (Encyclopedia of World Biography,

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In any case of failure to protect the rights, the people were in their complete right to overthrow the government (Doc 2 & Pg. 630) In agreement, Rousseau believed that the government’s power also comes from the consent of the people, which he included in his book, The Social Contract. (Pg. 632) Rousseau included much more ideas that incorporated political aspects, but he also his thought about

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