CTI 302 · Nov 9 · Rousseau: Language, Pity & Inequality

12 quick-review cards for November 9, 2026. Updated assignment: Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality, pp. 77–90; notes pp. 145–147 (John T. Scott edition). Follows the professor’s November 4 schedule update and study questions. Answers paraphrase Rousseau’s arguments, checked against other translations; page numbers refer to the assigned edition.Schedule: https://utexas.instructure.com/courses/1458104/discussion_topics/5882965Text: https://pressbooks.online.ucf.edu/ancientpoliticalphilosophy/chapter/rousseau-discourse-on-the-origin-of-inequality/Notes XII and XV: https://web.viu.ca/johnstoi/rousseau/seconddiscourse.htm

How does Rousseau describe motherhood in the pure state of nature?

Nursing initially serves the mother’s own need; habit produces affection. Children leave once self-sufficient, so the bond does not establish permanent families.

What does Rousseau dispute with Locke in Note XII?

That dependent children make lasting couples natural. A reason to help after birth does not explain why parents stayed together during pregnancy.

Why is the origin of language so difficult to explain?

Isolated people scarcely need communication. Shared words require agreement; language, developed thought, and society seem to presuppose one another.

Why does a mother teaching her child words not explain language’s origin?

It assumes an existing language. Rousseau asks how shared signs were first invented, not how children learn established words.

How rational are humans in Rousseau’s pure state of nature?

They perceive, desire, and avoid danger, but abstract reasoning remains undeveloped. Their few needs provide little incentive to develop it.

What is self-love (amour de soi)? — Note XV

Natural concern for one’s preservation. It does not require comparison; guided by reason and moderated by pity, it can support virtue.

What is pride (amour-propre)? — Note XV

Social, comparative self-regard: valuing oneself above others and seeking superior standing. It produces rivalry, wounded honor, and resentment.

Why is pride absent from the pure state of nature?

It requires comparisons and judgments of social worth. Solitary people do not yet measure themselves through others’ opinions.

What is pity, and why does it matter?

An instinctive aversion to others’ suffering. Before moral reasoning or law, it restrains self-preservation from becoming needless harm.

Why does Rousseau reject Hobbes’s picture of natural wickedness?

Hobbes imports social passions into nature and overlooks pity. Lacking moral knowledge does not make people vicious.

Is there inequality in the state of nature?

Natural differences exist, but matter little among independent people. Social education, institutions, and dependence magnify their effects.

Why can strength alone not establish lasting domination?

A self-sufficient victim can leave. Enduring servitude requires dependence on others, not merely unequal physical strength.