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Jean jacques rousseau beliefs on human nature
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau philosophy essay
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The General Will Through the Eyes of Rousseau Jean- Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract introduces the concept of what is commonly referred to as the common good. The common good is described as the end result that benefits the most people within a state or society. To be fully achieved as a collective unit, the common good must be agreed upon according to another political term: the general will. The general will is the desire of all the members in the state, which is put in place for the good of the society. The authenticity of the general will is then protected through jurisdictive laws that are put into place by the sovereign. Rousseau states that the general will is the will of all people, and it is the best choice for a state, only …show more content…
Rousseau claims that the general will is correct only if certain requirements are met, yet Rousseau affirms that general will is always correct. The general will is always correct because it is the will of all of the congregated people. The will of the people are the generators of what brings about rules. In Chapter XII of Book III, Rousseau explains the establishment of sovereign authority. Rousseau elaborates that "the sovereign, having no other force than legislative power, acts only through the laws. And since the laws are only authentic acts of the general will, the sovereign can act only when the populace is assembled” (Rousseau 215). This passage exemplifies the fact that laws can only be put in place if all of the people of society are assembled. Additionally, the laws are acts of the general will; the citizen’s opinions of what decisions actively pursue the common good. Nonetheless in Rousseau’s ideal society, the common good is the most important ideal for every citizen, so, inevitably, the particular wills of all support the general will. The particular will of every citizen cannot be determined by any other person and so the acts of the general will requires the assembly of all people, the agreement of all people and the opinion of all …show more content…
The purpose of the general will is to work towards what is brings the most advantages to the state. The general will is only effective and accurate when: every citizen is accounted for, every citizen agrees on the terms of deciding and the decision, and the opinion of every citizen is gathered. The general will is always correct in determining what the best course of action is for the people, because it is the people who determine the course of action. Rousseau states in Chapter IV, Book II that “it should be seen from this that what makes the will general is not so much the number of votes as the common interest that unites them, for in this institution each person necessarily submits himself to the conditions he imposes on others, and admirable accord between interest and justice that bestows on common deliberations a quality of equity" (Rousseau 175). In all, this passage indicates the true basis of obtaining the general will. Everyone must be treated equally and fairly in society as citizens so that opinions can be heard and there will be less unfairness within society. To conclude, the general will is successful when it guarantees the civic equality of all
In the first case, the will, when declared, is an act of Sovereignty and constitutes law: in the second, it is merely a particular will, or act of magistracy—at the most a decree”(1). Rousseau mentions the same term that Thomas Hobbes talked about but interprets it differently, he uses the term sovereignty to represent the vote of citizens that is essential to exercise the general will of the people; in addition, he points out that this is a way to promote directed democracy by allowing the people to vote based on majority rules based on what’s beneficial to them, and with this system everyone would have to follow it: “IF the State is a moral person whose life is in the union of its members, and if the most important of its cares is the care for its own preservation, it must have a universal and compelling force”(3). Rousseau implies that for the sake of
For Rousseau society itself is an implicit agreement to live together for the good of everyone with individual equality and freedom. However, people have enslaved themselves by giving over their power to governments which are not truly sovereign because they do not promote the general will. Rousseau believed that only the will of all the people together granted sovereignty. Various forms of government are instituted to legislate and enforce the laws. He wrote, "The first duty of the legislator is to make the
When a man attempts to gain everything he desires, he enslaves himself under his own natural rights. Rousseau states that “Men are not naturally enemies, if only for the reason that, living in their primitive independence, they have no mutual relations sufficiently durable to constitute a state of peace or a state of war.” (pg. 160) Rousseau believes that in nature man also has no personal relations amongst people and they live to simply fulfill his desire to what he wants. For example, if a man was in possession of the last apple that another man wanted, the one man would attempt to steal the apple. The attempt to steal the apple is not in an act of competition but to obtain what he wants. A person in nature does not have the right to property so he is unable to become more powerful with the possession of an object. Once a person moves from their natural state to a civil society he is placed under Rousseau’s social contract. Rousseau states that “man is born free, everywhere he is in chains.” (pg. 156) A free man who swears into the social contract is now restricted under the “chains” created by the general will of the people. The general will is the rational idea of how a persons behavior should be guided. A man no longer acts upon what his natural urges and instead makes his decisions in the favor of the general
Jean- Jacques Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” was published in 1762 and caused much controversy in France during the French Revolution. Rousseau was a famous philosophical thinker during the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. Due to his time period it is said the Rousseau is an Enlightenment Thinker; however, some of his ideas do not align with that of an Enlightenment Thinker. Rousseau was the kind of philosopher who applied philosophical reasoning to ethics and politics, and one approach to that was describing human beings when they are in a natural state. Rousseau was influenced by the modern natural law tradition which wanted to answer the challenge of skepticism, but through a systematic approach to human nature. The main purpose
Inferably, Rousseau admitted that only legitimate powers ought to be obeyed. But what is legitimate power? Where does it come from? If it all comes from God, how can w...
Its chief exponents are Jean-Jaques Rousseau(1712-78) and the New Left. This theory holds wisdom of the people in highest esteem and goes to the extent of deprecating representative government itself. It holds that wisdom of the people is bound to be diluted through the process of representation. The radical theory claims to be most progressive as it pays highest importance to the people, but it tends to rule out representation itself. Hence the liberal theory of representation may be treated a the most suited to the requirements of representative democracy(15).
All the people decide the norms that should regulate the society; they have the sovereignty, while the executive branch of the government is left to an elected assembly, which has the duty to apply the laws decided by the people. These laws are decided by the citizens according to the general will. With general will Rousseau means the common interest of every citizen; since the citizens are both deciding the laws that regulate the society, and at same time are subjected to those laws, they will choose only the laws that are in the best interest of the community. Rousseau also distinguishes the general will from the “particular wills” of the people and the “will of all”. To better understand this concept, it is helpful to look at an example: a country decides to adopt the universal health coverage system; therefore, the citizens have to pay an extra tax to ensure that everyone has a free healthcare. The particular will of every single citizen is to pay as little as possible – or even not to pay at all, and still get the free health coverage. If we sum all the particular wills of every citizen, we get the will of all, which is not to pay for the insurance and still get it. Of course the government has to find the money for the universal coverage; so the general will is to pay this tax and provide a free healthcare for everyone. It is a compromise that is in
To make this argument I will first outline this thought with regard to this issue. Second, I will address an argument in support of Rousseau’s view. Third, I will entertain the strongest possible counterargument to my view; namely, the idea that the general will contradicts itself by forcing freedom upon those who gain no freedom from the general will. Fourth, I will rebut that counter argument by providing evidence that the general will is always in favor of the common good. Finally, I will conclude my paper by summarizing the main lines of the argument of my paper and reiterate my thesis that we can force people to be free.
Rousseau uses several examples of worthy leaders in order to prove that quality leadership determines fair law in Book II, Chapter VI: THE LAW. In particular, he discusses the role of God, legislators, and guides. First, the efficiency of lawmaking will be discussed, then the reasons law is essential, next the characteristics per Rousseau of an ideal lawmaker, and finally the best type of leader or guide will be debated. Many things have changed since Rousseau’s time, however the need for a leader to determine fair law has remained the same, and will continue to be a large part of governments and societies.
Rousseau explains that citizens of a society must be able to obey and develop the idea of “general will” because it is the process of establishing the common good of the people. Rousseau argues that, “the general will is always rightful and always tends to the public good; but it does not follows that the
In the Social Contract, Rousseau introduces two seemingly contrasting conceptions of the general will. He advances that the under certain conditions, the general will is the will of the assembled people and advances that the general will “is always right and always tends toward the public utility.”(172) In three parts, this paper will illustrate how these two conceptions of the general will are irreconcilable. In the first part, I will present a common but mistaken reconciliation of these two conception. This reconciliation is founded upon the “derived from all in order to be applied to all” principle. In the second part, I will demonstrate how the reconciliation of the two conceptions
John Locke’s social contract theory applies to all types of societies in any time era. Although, Jean-Jacques Rousseau did write during the Renaissance era, his philosophy limits itself to fix the problem of an absolute monarchy and fails to resolve other types of societies. These philosophers have such profound impacts on modern day societies. For example, the United States’ general will is codified in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, meanwhile individual rights are distinguished in the Declaration of
Ironically, the general will reflects the real will of a person in society. By definition, the general will is always right. The general will is the overriding good people are willing to sacrifice for equality amongst society, including various private wills. Overall, a "good citizen" conforms to society's laws a goodness and wisdom exceeding his own goodness and wisdom”. Therefore it is quite common for a person to mistake their wanted will and which he truly wills. The “good citizen” is able to distinguish his own will from the general will. People whom refuses to comply with the general will is then forced. Rousseau believes that if a person wants to be generally good, the rulers can make them good. Rousseau thus reviewed the political society and states that he wants man to use society to liberate themselves and serve the will; ultimately relieving their corruption and mistaken perception form
In his famous “Social Contract Theory”, the English philosopher John Locke examines the creation of a democracy by revealing the relationship between the government and its citizens: the citizens willingly surrender their natural rights to the government, and in return, the government would provide the public goods and securities that the citizens need. Locke claims that this concept helps incorporate citizens to “act as one body”, which will then produce policy base on the majority interests. However, several loopholes are created by this ideology and
Rousseau argues that the citizens should be the ones who create the law when living in that particular society. He says “Laws are, properly speaking, only the conditions of civil association. The people, being subject to the laws, ought to be their author: the conditions of the society ought to be regulated solely by those who come together to form it.” Since the law is aimed at the citizens and punishments would oblige if not obeying to the law, it would simply be more accurate if the citizens themselves would create the law to make obedience simpler.