PHIL4406 Lecture : Study Guide_Rousseau.docx
Document Summary
Rousseau: what is the main idea of discourse on the science and art or first discourse? (elaborate rousseau s answer on the initial question whether the restoration of the. Sciences and arts has contributed to the purification of morals). Summarize shortly part i and part ii of discourse. In his discourse, rousseau says that the arts and sciences do not contribute to the refining of moral practices. His beliefs contrast with the popular beliefs of the time period as people wanted to believe that the arts and sciences contributed to our moral well being. This is a critique on the ideas of the enlightenment thinkers. In the first part of the discourse he talks about how humans need to go back to our nature using our natural intelligence and human reason. He believed that humans in their natural state were peaceful, moral, and harmonious with the world around them.
