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Research Paper On Jean Jacques Rousseau

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Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that by nature, man was good. He said the “people in the state of nature were innocent, at their best, and that they were corrupted by the unnaturalness of civilization”. Man by nature is a saint and society corrupts the pure individual. Rousseau viewed private property as a destructive, impulsive, and the egotistical institution that rewarded greed and luck. He wanted everyone equal. He thought because people were born with certain natural talent they should not be praised for it, as others without it should not be blamed. I don’t think that’s an accurate reflection of human nature. People were born to be social. I feel humans are a social society, and depend on each other for help. It’s unrealistic to think
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1) On page three (including the footnote) Rousseau distinguishes between the chains that hold people down (actual obstacles to freedom imposed by authorities) and “garlands of flowers” flung by arts and sciences that, though we want them, hold us down even more. Describe some of the chains and the garlands of flowers that may hold you back from becoming the person you would really like to be. (This is a loaded question; to answer you have to say something about the person you would really like to be!) a. Throughout life the majority of the people around us are trying to become the person they want to be. For me, the person I want to become is someone self-confident and independent. To be respected, live a happy life, and to be an example to others.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

Rousseau’s beliefs coincided with the beliefs of other Enlightenment thinkers. This is shown when he writes, “Duty and interest thus equally require the two contracting parties [the people and the government] to aid each other mutually” (Document 3). In that period of history, it was typical for people to be ruled by a monarch and they had very little say, if any, in the laws and policies that impacted their day to day life. Rousseau felt that the system was outdated and it made citizens feel as if they were living in someone else’s home rather than their own, so he theorized that by fabricating a system in which the government and the people are forced to work together, it creates a sense of unity and equality. This works because “ … an offense against one of its members is an offense against the body politic.

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812 Words | 4 Pages

Rousseau’s beliefs coincided with the beliefs of other Enlightenment thinkers. This is shown when he writes, “Duty and interest thus equally require the two contracting parties [the people and the government] to aid each other mutually” (Document 3). In that period of history, it was typical for people to be ruled by a monarch and they had very little say, if any, in the laws and policies that impacted their day to day life. Rousseau felt that the system was outdated and it made citizens feel as if they were living in someone else’s home rather than their own, so he theorized that by fabricating a system in which the government and the people are forced to work together, it creates a sense of unity and equality. This works because “ … an offense against one of its members is an offense against the body politic.

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1137 Words | 5 Pages

Rousseau’s main idea is that everyone should feel safe, happy, and equal even if it means sacrificing personal joy for the good of society. If these things are not present then the community does not work. The contract

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1162 Words | 5 Pages

He based his beliefs off of the ideas that all men are created good-natured, but society corrupts them. Unlike some other French Enlightenment thinkers, Rousseau believed that the Social contract was not a willing agreement. He also said that no man should be forced to give up their natural rights to a ruler. He came up with the solution that people should “give up” their natural rights to the community for the public’s good. He believed in a democratic government.

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877 Words | 4 Pages

Rousseau, one of the most leading philosophers during the Enlightenment, had indeed left many of legendries behind. Not only his writings had caused many of the reactions at that time, but also influenced many writers’ aspects of the French Revolution and the overall understanding of inequality and the General Will. As one of the chief political theorists during the French Revolution who was also influenced by Rousseau’s ideas, Abbe Sieyes, published the pamphlet, “What is the Third Estate?” in 1789. This pamphlet was one of the documents that changed the world and lit the flame toward the French Revolution, as characterized by Joe Janes, a University of Washington professor (Janes).

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258 Words | 2 Pages

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in 1712 in Geneva, Switzerland. His mother died a few days after his birth. He was raised by his father and aunt until, at the age of ten, when his father fled France to avoid a prison sentence. Rousseau was then placed in the care of a county priest. He later returned to Geneva to live with an uncle.

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989 Words | 4 Pages

With this statement Rousseau believes this freedom and natural goodness is corrupted by the influence of civilization. Rousseau believed that egoism would be absent but compassion would be consistently present. Similarly to Locke, Rousseau believes that we should use our reason with reference to people and states that pity should be the forefront of

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126 Words | 1 Pages

Henri Rousseau turned into a full-time craftsman at the age of forty-nine, subsequent to resigning from his post at the Paris traditions office - a vocation that provoked his well-known moniker, "Le Douanier Rousseau," "the toll gatherer." Although an admirer of specialists, for example, William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Jean-Leon Gerome, the self-educated Rousseau turned into the original credulous craftsman. His awkward procedure and abnormal creations incited the disparagement of contemporary pundits, while gaining the appreciation and reverence of cutting edge craftsmen like Pablo Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky for uncovering "the new conceivable outcomes of straightforwardness." Rousseau's best-known works are rich wilderness scenes, motivated

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479 Words | 2 Pages

One of the most famous Enlightenment thinkers was Jean-Jacques Rousseau, author of The Social Contract. The point of The Social Contract is to establish whether or not a legitimate political authority can exist. Rousseau based his book on the idea that things were worse of now that people were under a governmental authority than before—whenever they were in a state of nature. Rousseau’s work was influential around the world, giving rise to political reforms and

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1648 Words | 7 Pages

On the other hand, Werther takes an extremely Romantic approach, with his life and experiences demonstrating the limitations of a rational society. In Discourse on the Origin of Moral Inequality, Rousseau rationally determines that the emergence of society and the invention of property directly cause moral inequality between people, specifically, the rich and the poor. First, he establishes the state of nature as a basic system, with no complex morality or rationality involved, unlike the states of nature described by Hobbes and Locke. At the most fundamental degree, Rousseau places mankind at the same level as other animals.

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1351 Words | 6 Pages

For Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the further human knowledge progresses while believing gross misconceptions about fundamental human nature, which he believes is the case, the more confused humanity will become. To understand the enormous disparity which is present now among humanity “we must seek the first origin of the differences that distinguish men” (Rousseau, 40). Rousseau observes that humanity has evolved drastically since its beginning, so the beginning is where he starts. Rousseau claims in the Discourse on Inequality that humanity has always possessed the faculties for pity and self-preservation, before reason and civilization had played any role in man’s evolution, where “pity is what, in the state of nature, takes the place of laws,

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1624 Words | 7 Pages

“This right does not come from nature, it is therefore founded upon convention”. Rousseau does not view society in the same light as Durkheim. He does not believe that society is the savior of humans and that there is no real self without it. Unlike Durkheim, Rousseau believes that the only natural society is the traditional family and that any other form is forged out of convention. Rousseau mentions that when parents are done raising their child and that child is no longer dependent, but chooses to stay then the family is together out if convention and is then unnatural.

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754 Words | 4 Pages

INTRODUCTION Jean Jacque Rousseau was born in the city state of Geneva, Switzerland in 1772. Rousseau is primarily known for major works like- The Social Contract, Emile, Discourse on the origin of Inequality, the Constitutional Project for Corsica, and Consideration on the Government of Poland. What makes Rousseau such an important figure in the history of philosophy is because of his contribution to both political and moral philosophies and his concept of ‘general will’, which also gained him a lot of criticism. Apart from his philosophical and political contribution, he was also a novelist, an autobiographer, botanist, composer and also a music theorist.

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1355 Words | 6 Pages

The autobiography, The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, provides a vivid insight into the complicated, yet exhilarating, life of Rousseau. The beginning of his life was filled with misfortunes, such as the death of his mother which was quickly followed by a distraught and self-sabotaging attitude which his father adopted. This led to his father’s involvement in illegal behaviors and the subsequent abandonment of Rousseau. His mother’s death was the catalyst for his journey to meet multiple women who would later affect his life greatly. The Influence of Miss Lamberciers, Madame Basile, Countess de Vercellis, and Madam de Warens on the impressionable adolescent mind of Rousseau led to the positive cultivation of self-discovery and the creation of new experiences, as well as the development of inappropriate sexual desires and attachments towards women.

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