Intellect Mans greatest power
Can intellectual advancement lead to a general regression in our existence? Both Rousseau and Virilio deal with this question, but in very different ways. Rousseau examines this question in the broadest sense, by back tracking to the origin of intellect. Virilio, on the other hand, speaks of a very specific type of intellectual advancement, namely-the invention of a long range nuclear missile. Both would agree that intellectual progression can be advantageous to the human race, but whether or not the advantages outweigh the disadvantages is questionable. Rousseau argues that man existed in a ³natural state,² where he had basically no intellect. The ³natural man² did not speak, own property, or interact with other humans. This independent man, knew only compassion and how to survive. With intellect came evil. ³But by nature, man is good, self sufficient, compassionate to others when they do not threaten him, and incapable of pride, hatred, falsehood, and vice, society, precisely because it develops man¹s faculties, which corrupts him.² ( Rousseau, p. 20)Through the birth of property, man began to calculate and think. He saw what his fellow man had that he didn¹t, and became jealous. Now since man was able to see the nasce
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1014
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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