the nature of man

A detailed Summary of the nature of man

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) has had a great impact on history as well as philosophy throughout the years. He is the most widely cited philosopher of the eighteenth century. In The First and Second Discourses he argues that culture taught people ideas which enslaved them in society. Thus he firmly holds that everyone is better off in his or her original state of nature. The original state of nature is calm and peaceful. Rather it is a simplistic form of life. Rousseau idealizes a classless society and finds civilized men to be corrupt. He finds man living in the original state of nature at the greatest advantage than man living in society. Society produces inequality and restraints whereas the original state of nature does not. In The First and Second Discourses Rousseau describes what life is like in the original state of nature and argues that it is preferable over civilized society due to several prevailing factors.

Rousseau believes that man in the original state of nature has no fears. Men are physically fit to protect themselves against beasts because they acquire the skills and easily adapt. Men are strong and are "accustomed from infancy to inclemencies of the weather and the rigor of seasons, trained in fat

igue, and forced . . . to defend their lives" (106). Nature renders man strong and robust thereby setting a distinction from man in society who is dependent upon others for survival. The savage man learns quickly and surpasses animals in respect to skill very quickly. Hence, man is easily capable of outsmarting and trapping ferocious beasts when necessary. Yet it is very rare that conflict arises between man and animal in the original state of nature.

Nevertheless, the concept of inequality is barely conceived in the original state of nature. "For animal and man having been treated equally by nature"(111) is the norm. On the contrary, civilized man has various class distinctions. In society, knowledge is power and determines the status of man. The level of education a civilized man has received is reflected in his lifestyle. The savage man has no regard for material things and so there lies no differences in that manner in the state of nature. The wealthy men of civilized society trap the poor, which cause inequality. Rousseau thus argues that the poor are closer to living in the state of nature. Another act of inequality found in civil societies is among the sexes. Male dominance is a common practice in civil society. Civil men use love to gain power over women. The moral element of love is a sentiment "and extolled with much skill and care by women . . . and make dominant the sex that ought to obey"(135). Once again, this sentiment is based on beauty. There is no concept of beauty in the original state of nature. A savage finds beauty insignificant and is incapable of comparing women; his mind is not trained in that manner.

In the original state of nature all things move uniformly, whereas in society there is constant

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Approximate Word count = 1181
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People