ipl-logo

Was Rousseau Really Free

2220 Words9 Pages

Freedom is Rousseau’s central preoccupation. In the state of nature, we have natural freedom but once socialisation begins we lose our liberty by becoming dependent on others. Rousseau’s aim is to find a modern form of socialisation that would protect people’s freedom without constraining it, such that “each citizen unites with all but nevertheless obeys only himself and remains as free as before” (Rousseau, 1762:191). He finds the solution in the social contract by which individuals become part of the sovereign and abide by the general will, what makes them free. Rousseau defends the possibility of punishing those who fail to obey the general will by ‘forcing them to be free’. By entering civil society, we gain civil freedom which makes us truly rational and moral, and permits us to obey our own prescribed laws. Violation of the contract means violation of our civil freedom, which equates with saying that we lose our ability to be rational beings that freely decide one’s own will. For Rousseau complying with the general will is a condition of freedom.

This essay will argue that Rousseau’s solution is logical and not self-contradictory, and that forcing to be free is not …show more content…

The sovereign is not merely the addition of all its members, it is a distinct and unified body that exists on its own and can be treated as an individual. Each citizen of this society is bound to the sovereign as is he to the other citizens that form, together with him, the sovereign. Thusly, no one is above anyone else, as each individual has the same rights. The sovereign is not bound in any way, but as it owes its existence to the social contract, it must not harm it in any ways because he would otherwise hurt himself. Its main responsibility is to act in the best interests of the citizens (MacAdam,

Show More
Related

Scientific Revolution DBQ

1225 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More

Locke And Rousseau's Government: The Primary Ideas Of Government

1677 Words | 7 Pages

The Primary objective of all leaders should be to control citizens. A society that allows authority to be challenged will never succeed. This source depicts an authoritarian or totalitarian view of what a governing body should look like. The author suggests that the primary objective of government should be the “control of the citizens”, and therefore that the individuals should entirely obey said government.

Read More

Creation Of The United States Dbq Essay

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.

Read More

Scientific Revolution Dbq Essay

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

Read More

Common Sense By Thomas Paine And The Virginia Declaration Of Independence

1365 Words | 6 Pages

Rousseau presents this question “How is a method of associating to be found which will defend and protect-using the power of all-the person and property of each ember and still enable each member of the group to obey only him and to remain as free as before?” Thomas Paine says that “Government, on the other hand, is an institution whose sole purpose is to protect us from our own vices.” In order to grow and protect itself people join a society. For a society to have order and justice and remain equal, laws must be put in place, such that protect the individual rights of these people that they were born with. Equality is another belief that all these philosophies shared.

Read More

Analysis Of Doubt: A Parable By John Patrick Shanley

1486 Words | 6 Pages

The power of belief shapes events into hardline certainties and creates situations where opinions will define the term success. In John Patrick Shanley’s story Doubt: A Parable, Sister Aloysius forms doubts about Father Flynn’s actions and diligently tries to expose Father Flynn based off of negligible evidence. A Catholic school in the Bronx is stuck at the crossroads as a rigid disciplinarian nun and the liberal parish priest share different views pertaining not only to their religion. The principal, Sister Aloysius, accuses Father Flynn of having inappropriate relations with the school’s first black student. She goes on a personal crusade to expunge Father Flynn from St. Nicholas without a fragment of validation expect her moral certitude.

Read More

Rousseau's Influence On Abbe Sieyes

877 Words | 4 Pages

If examine this statement closer, one could find the core values of Rousseau’s utopian version of the General Will. The first core value of the General Will Rousseau had suggested was that it was a collective will from everyone. Indeed, Rousseau believed that “Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will” (Rousseau 8). In other words, the General Will Rousseau was advocating was the will that “both come from all and apply to all.” Correspondingly, Sieyes applied this idea and indicated that the law was at the center of the nation and the will of the Nation is the result of individual will (Lualdi 116), which both suggested that the General Will should come from all.

Read More

Mills Vs Rousseau Analysis

927 Words | 4 Pages

The idea that a contract is needed in any society in order to accomplish more and achieve greater individual security for the price of some of their rights and freedoms is prevalent in both Mills’ and Rousseau’s novels. On the contrary, White supremacy is an underlying theme throughout The Social contract, while Mills’ calls out Rousseau for objectifying “peoples of color” by ignoring them from the contract as a whole. Due to this detrimental difference in the two philosophers’ beliefs, I have to side with Charles Mills’ and his racial contract. When it is all said and done, Mills’ appropriately addresses the problem and respectfully finds a solution that is not offensive to certain

Read More

Struggles In Stealing Home

1158 Words | 5 Pages

Joci Schmidt Mrs. Niswonger English Composition II 7 May, 2023 Why Friendship Can Help People Through Struggles is the Theme of Stealing Home Friendship could be defined as a bond that can keep people together through mutual affection or shared experiences (McBrairty, 2021). That bond kept Maddie Townsend close with her childhood friends Helen and Dana Sue in Stealing Home. Written by Sherryl Woods, Stealing Home deals with newly divorced Maddie Townsend and her struggle to cope with everyday living with three children after the divorce. Maddie has had many struggles in her life; however, she struggled with making her children understand why their father left with a new woman who is currently pregnant.

Read More

Analysis Of The Social Contract By Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1012 Words | 5 Pages

Book One of The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau focuses on the reasons that people give up their natural liberty in order to achieve protection from threats to themselves and their property. This results in the formation of a legitimate sovereign where all members are equal. Rousseau believes that no human has authority over another individual because force cannot be established. He argues that no individual will give up his or her freedom without receiving something in return. I will focus my analysis on how the social contract states that we must give up our individual rights in order to obtain equality and security.

Read More

Thomas Hobbes's Discourse On Inequality And Social Contract

2000 Words | 8 Pages

In contrast to Hobbes, who argues social bonds form to regulate human nature, Rousseau argues that the formation of the civil state results from and in a “change in man,” that humans must of necessity be denatured in the process of forming society. There are similarities between the two’s philosophies, but it is Rousseau, through his arguments that human nature can be changed, who articulates a political vision more consistent with the claim that humans are asocial by nature. In the beginning, the arguments of both Hobbes and Rousseau are similar. Man in nature is isolated.

Read More

Rousseau's Discourse On The Origin Of Inequality

511 Words | 3 Pages

However, I think it is important to remember Rousseau’s concept of perfectibility and understand that because of this trait it was almost inevitable that humans would eventually become social. Yet, it is not inevitable that humans would become politically unequal, as that is a direct result of government institutions. As well, Rousseau himself in further writings even expresses the hope that a new form of social contract could help to ease some of the political inequalities that plague contemporary society. This then suggests that the cause for these issues is not rooted in being social, for it is possible to live among others in a setting where equality has been institutionalized. Rather, the problem lies with corrupt and capitalist governments that serve to perpetuate inauthenticity and private

Read More

Durkheim And Rousseau Analysis

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.

Read More

Jean Jacque Rousseau's Political And Political Philosophy

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.

Read More

Similarities Between Hobbes And Rousseau

1351 Words | 6 Pages

Thus, both men would evaluate the statement that “in a legitimate state all men are free and there is no inequality,” differently. Rousseau would mostly disagree, holding that the state itself is the impetus for inequality. Hobbes would largely agree, contending that men are equal both in a primitive state of conflict and under a sovereign’s awesome power. These different responses result from the philosophers’ opposing views on fundamental human nature, civil society’s raison d’etre, and government’s inevitable form. --- Rousseau begins his

Read More

More about Was Rousseau Really Free

Related Topics

Open Document