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Bonjour je m’apple Jean-Jacques Rousseau
I am a Swiss-French philosopher born in 1712
most known for my books, The Second Discourse and The Social Contract
What makes you qualified to speak on this discussion of good and evil?
witnessed witnessed the corrupt and confining government that leads towards evil
During the time that I grew up during the ancien régime, Europe was ruled by absolutist kings and the average person did not have any rights, only privileges that were limited and often nonexistent to commoners.
This style of confining government drove people towards revolution
like the french revolution where commoners took a stand against the oppressive French regime.
You argue that human nature is inherently good, if so, how is it that people become evil?
Evil starts out as inequality emphasized in society in the form on institutions like social hierarchies, enforced behavior, and private property; for example the three estates in French society
When these institutions are so polarizing between groups of people, they have grievances, and when they are unanswered, that is when people rebel
IN an attempt to control the possibility of rebellion, society’s authority figure or king imposes extreme limitations on the people
these limitations further their reasons to rebel resulting in the evil actions and outcomes that come with confrontation and revolution
One of your most well known works, The Social Contract, contains ideas of political and social structure that have sparked revolutionary ideas but what is the “social contract?”
the social contract is an unspoken agreement between the ruler or king and its governed people
This agreement is that people consent to being governed by giving up some of their freedom in exchange for the safety and security of a civilization provided by a king
the king only has as much power as its citizens allow him
and is the kings responsibility to act in the interest of the people
if he abuses his power and is an unjust ruler, the citizens have a right to overthrow him
What is an example of this abuse of power?
In the Lord of the Flies, Ralph abuses his power with his use of assemblies, the conch, and his constant creation of rules
while these arrangements may not seem too extreme to the ordinary citzen, Jack, who was already label as second best to Ralph, felt even more suffocated and demeaned by these rules
The rules empphasize the soical hierarchy and its inequality since they assert Ralph’s dominance over Jack’s through his authrity to make rules and order tohers around
It was this tyrannical rule and made Jack leave the group and corrupt the other boys into evil
Can you expand a little bit on how the “Social Contract” supports the side of nurture?
The Social contract supports the side of nurture since it proves just how unjust government can corrupt people into evil
For example, French King, Louis the 16th ruled in an absolutist manner where people of the middle and lower classes were incarcerated and even executed for no reason
This tyrannic rule and extreme inequality among the social classes outraged french subjects which started a movement of rebellion which would become the french revolution
If Louis the 16th had not imposed such polarizing laws in which french people would not be so distinct and unequally treated, there would not be motivation for rebellion which eliminates the potential for evil in the forms of betrayal, war, and revolution
You mentioned how inequality has a heavy effect on Jack and led to him leaving Ralph’s tribe, but how does the notion of inequality lead to evil?
Inequality is the basis of all evil as it gives motivations for harmful actions
the beginnings of inequality present itself in confinement
since humans were born in the natural state without limitations, they are -constrained and corrupted into evil by social arrangements that confine a person (Camilleri)-
the inequality society creates is full of blame, criticism, judgement, comparison to others, and distinction of worth among people
which demeans a person’s wellbeing and self worth as it pits people against each other for no reason other than to succeed at the expense of another.
What does the term “natural state” mean?
The natural state is a state free from confinement and social institutions like social hierarchy and structure and expected behavior
the absence of these limitations laves humans to remain intrinsically good since the absence of confining their confinement eliminates enforced inequality.
How has the notion of private property influenced human nature and social structure?
Private property has influenced human nature and social structure as it is a social institution that emphasizes inequality.
Owning private property intensifies the sense of competition between people as it condones selfishness, greediness, and self-interest and it emphasizes materialism and the gain for oneself
What once used to be a community, pre-civilization, where each person would contribute for the benefit of one group, turned into a competitive and cutthroat would where people would commit any crime or backstab any friend to benefit themselves financially or socially.
Can you explain what you mean by the quote “Each man in giving himself to everyone gives himself to no-one”
The idea that a person who gives themselves to “everyone gives himself to no-one” comments on the capability and responsibility of a ruler
to “give himself to everyone” connotes the need for a king to act in the collective interest or general will of his people
However, if he only serves a select group, for example the rich, or tries to please each person individually, the leader “gives himself to no-one” as his work is not as meaningful and more neglectful to the group as a whole
When do we see this in Lord of the Flies?
this theory is exemplified in the Lord of the Flies as Ralph pays less and less attention to the boys as he allows them to wanter off and do as they please when making huts
In this moment, he is only paying attention to Simon as he is the only other person helping him which displays how he “gives himself to no-one”
while some may argue that he is displaying a “laissez faire” style of leadership, Ralph does not give another thought about those boys while a “laissez faire” leader would be giving them independence while still guiding and maintaining rules.
displaying how Ralph was an incapable leader, his lack of action to the best interest of the group allowed of chaos to ensue
Based on all the studies and ideas that you have researched, what would you say to the idea that humans are inherently evil?
Evil does not just appear out of the blue, it is traits like selfishness or competitiveness that cause evil in people
behind the traits of selfishness and competitiveness, there must be a drive or motivation that creates these feelings
it is institutions like social hierarchy private property that are so heavily enforced in day to dat life
while these instituions are inevitable, the evil that may come along is not
this drives selfishness through the desire to move up the social classes and become a person of prestige and popularity
competition also derives from the desire to social prestige but it is combined with the idea that one’s success cannot be achieved if another does not fail
