4
votes
What were the "paradoxes of Rousseau"?
Mill refers to Rousseau's upsetting the consensus of the Enlightenment that the modern spirit of commerce makes people more "civilized" with his theory of "natural goodness" of ...
- 43.1k
3
votes
Rousseau's Social Contract and the state of nature
if humans are naturally good, why do we need to prevent them from being bad (via the power of the state)?
The premise is inaccurate insofar as it obviates Rousseau's distinction between savage man ...
- 460
3
votes
Accepted
English translation of "Les meditations metaphysiques de J. J. Rousseau (Paris: Vrin, 1970)"
After an extensive search using every idea and skill I obtained in years of academic practice (and having to search for and verify quite obscure sources mentioned in book contributions when supporting ...
- 13.9k
3
votes
Can someone expand Rousseau's proper definition of war?
Just to supplement Mauro's answer, which brings out perfectly the central conceptual point about war, there's an associated point that relates to why wars occur between states when the roots of war ...
- 35.7k
3
votes
what does Bertrand Russell mean by saying this
It is an apology for the single-author history compared to history written by many specialists.
It means that the specialist of Rousseau may not be versed in the history of Ancient Greece, as well as ...
- 37k
3
votes
Did Rousseau say that equality of conditions is not possible without slavery?
Did J.J. Rousseau really say slavery was a necessary condition to reach equality of conditions?
I do not think so; see A Discourse on Political Economy (Discours sur l'économie politique, 1755) :
...
- 37k
2
votes
Accepted
A question about Rousseau's conception of freedom
Rousseau is making the point that 'freedom' means accepting and working within a structure of laws/rules. That's the heart of the "Government of Laws, not of Men" quote (from John Adams) ...
- 19.6k
2
votes
Accepted
What is "State" for Rousseau?
State is the institution.
Chapter VI : The social pact
Right away, in place of the particular individuality of each contracting party, this act of association produces a moral and ...
- 37k
2
votes
Accepted
Can someone expand Rousseau's proper definition of war?
War is not a relation between individuals, but between States.
See The Social Contract, Book I: Chapter IV :
Private combats, duels, and encounters are acts that do not constitute a state of war; [...
- 37k
2
votes
Rousseau Experts, Assemble! (to identify a quote)
This quote of Rousseau from "On Education", strikes me as similar:
The knowledge of the most ignorant man would surprise us if we had
followed his course from birth to the present time. If ...
- 2,706
2
votes
Accepted
Regarding Rousseau's Right to Conquest
Rousseau does not hold, presuppose or imply that 'individuals are in a constant state of war' in SC I.4 or elsewhere. In I.4 section 9 he goes out of his way to deny that war can take place between ...
- 35.7k
1
vote
Accepted
What is the Common Good According to Hobbes?
The common good = salus publica = common welfare is the
superior principle, the souverain has to follow in his political
decision, see Chapter 30 of Leviathan following the keyword Salus
populi.
The ...
- 31.6k
1
vote
Inquiring about Perspectives on the Theory of "the People" as a Political Concept
Interesting question.
At the risk of explicitly disobeying your request, I'm going to link to my answer which makes the case in reference to Hobbes and Rousseau, that how we interpret 'human nature' ...
- 21.7k
1
vote
Inquiring about Perspectives on the Theory of "the People" as a Political Concept
Ernest Renan's What is a Nation? comes to mind, being concise, more recent than the authors OP references and borrowing from them.
To Renan a nation is composed of people who continually accept to be ...
- 6,314
1
vote
Rousseau's Social Contract and the state of nature
Rousseau doesn't say humans, as savages, are good—he says they are not bad. From the Dissertation On the Origin and Foundation of The Inequality of Mankind :
Above all, let us not conclude, with ...
- 5,869
1
vote
Accepted
Who does 'men of letters' refer to?
Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote in the 18th century — he died shortly before the French Revolution — and so his 'men of letters' would have referred to French aristocrats and haute bourgeois: successful ...
- 19.6k
1
vote
Which English translation of "The Social Contract" is better?
Cole was sympathetic towards Rousseaus political ideas which makes for a good translation
This suggests then that this is a good translation as Cole has all the virtues of a good translator, a good ...
- 47.2k
1
vote
Accepted
Which English translation of "The Social Contract" is better?
One issue that commonly occurs with translations of works in philosophy is that there are often "old translations" -- which you'll readily find in print because they are outside of copyright. In ...
- 24.7k
1
vote
Natural sociality in Rousseau and Aristotle
Rousseau and the state of nature
The Discourse on the Origins of Inequality (1775) depicts the individual in the state of nature, which Rousseau believed once existed before systematic social ...
- 35.7k
1
vote
Accepted
what does Bertrand Russell mean by saying this
Note: This answer is quite similar to Mauro's, but adds some explanation of the specific details of the quote.
The context is Russell's apology for knowing less about the specifics of any one ...
- 30.1k
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