Jean-Jacques Rousseau

What aspects of **commercial society** did Rousseau approve of?

It held society together, through trade and shared utility. This helped to render the necessity of a collective fear of a sovereign (the Hobbesian model) and the utopian premise of Christian love as obsolete in holding society together.

Which aspects of **commercial society** did Rousseau disapprove of?

He argued the market lacked morality, and led to domestic inequality and international warfare.

What is the **Fénelon Problem?**

The **Fénelon Problem** posits that despotism and inequality are both problems, but it isn’t clear whether they can be solved together.

* Decentralised government often leads to increased inequality
* Efforts to curb inequality often lead to despotism

Rousseau sought to solve the problem.

What were Geneva’s problems during the time of Rousseau?

* It was surrounded by monarchically absolutist France
* It was over-consuming
* It was undergoing depopulation

What is the purpose of Rousseau’s **Second Discourse**?

* To ascertain the origin of inequality
* To answer how these conditions came about
* To expose modern life’s deep illegitimacies, and to juxtapose humanity’s ‘natural condition’ against it.

Does Rousseau believe we can return to the State of Nature?

No - he argues our passions have destroyed our original simplicity. He appreciates the paradox that individuals reading his work will desire a return to our simple origins, but that this is not possible.

Which dichotomy does Rousseau’s argument lean on the most?

That of nature/artifice. The State of Nature is the manifestation of the Divine Will, and human action - artifice - is what has differentiated us from the Divine.

What are the three States of Nature?

1. The **Pure** State of Nature is that of humanity prior to original sin, an area of natural goodness in which animals satisfy their needs with ease, in balance with nature.
2. The **Historical** State of Nature is that of nascent society, a ‘golden mean’ between Pure Nature and society. It is an equitable proportion of that which is natural, and that which is artificial: Rousseau uses the example of ‘savage’ peoples.
3. The **New** State of Nature is an excess of consumption, the beginning of the condition in which we now find ourselves.

What is Rousseau’s response to Hobbes regarding **Sociability**?

Hobbes contends that man is naturally self-serving in accordance with the Right of Nature, naturally wicked. Rousseau instead argues man, when considered in the abstract, is benign, being neither good nor wicked morally.

What is Rousseau’s response to Hobbes regarding **Natural Goodness**?

Rousseau rejects the notion of inherent wickedness, instead arguing humans exist in the pure state of nature as benign, free beings.

What is Rousseau’s response to Hobbes regarding **Reason and Passion**?

Rousseau agrees with Hobbes that sociability isn’t necessarily natural, but he argues that as humans easily satisfy their needs in a pure state of nature, their actions are ‘non-prejudicial’ against others. He disregards the concept of **vainglory** as being offset by a natural disposition towards **pity**, which disposes them towards co-operation and peace.

Humans in the **Pure State of Nature** therefore lack the passions which Hobbes argues predisposes them to war.

What is Rousseau’s response to Hobbes regarding **Abstentive Morality**?

Both Hobbes and Rousseau agree that morality is mostly abstentive: to do your own good, with the least harm to others.

What is ***Amour de Soi***?

*Amour de Soi* is a natural form of self-love which inclines every animal to attend to its self-preservation. It is guided by reason and modified by pity, producing virtue in humans.

What is ***Amour-Propre***?

*Amour-Propre* is an artifical form of self-love. It is reflective, born in society, and inspires individuals to do better than others: it inspires men with the evils they do to one another.

How should we deal with *Amour-Propre*?

Now that society exists, to destroy *Amour-Propre* outright is impossible. The comparisons with others which lead to it will always exist in society.

However, Rousseau argues *Amour-Propre* can be harnessed through the mechanism of the nation-state. One can seek to benefit their own state above others, and through nationalism and patriotism, *Amour-Propre* can benefit an entire nation of individuals.