PHIL 2923 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1 Jun 2016
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Jean-jacques rousseau (1712-1788): the laws of freedom: introduction. 0. 1 influence of rousseau"s ideas: democracy and equality, freedom, critique of society; authenticity. 0. 2 two main poles of rousseau"s thought: society as the source of most ills (see d2, p. 50, the ideal society as remedy (see sc, p. 167, the state of nature. Some general points: four stages: a more realistic story, pre-political vs. pre-cultural, once again, we"re looking for deep tendencies, not strict laws. 1. 2 the primitive stage: individuals living in isolation (part i of d2): human beings lead simple, contented lives. They simply look for what they need to survive: no culture, no developed language; nothing recognizably human. 1. 3 rousseau"s main claim: no war of all against all not yet. Our concern is with human beings as they are here and now. 1. 4 rousseau"s rejoinder: political institutions and human nature. 1. 5 important to note about the primitive condition: human beings are free.
