Rousseau Essay on Inequality

Question 1

Rousseau

Answer 1

• Born in Calvinist Geneva
• Moves around a bunch
• Ends up back in Geneva

Question 2

Discourse on Inequality

Answer 2

• Written in 1755
• Responding to an essay prompt from the university of Dijon

Question 3

Dedicatory Letter

Answer 3

• Praise to Geneva is incencere
• Draws attention to all its faults

Question 4

Problem Before Inequality

Answer 4

• We don’t understand ourselves
• Contemporary values are withered versions of who we once were

Question 5

SoN Departure

Answer 5

• We impose concepts that can only exist in society

Question 6

Natural Law H and L

Answer 6

• They impose civilized reasoning on pre-social society/SoN
• Distort natural men, shaping by bias of modern men

Question 7

Pre-Natural Principles

Answer 7

• Amour de soi and pitié
• Form natural right and precede reason

Question 8

Natural Man

Answer 8

• Robust and used to hunting
• Not determined by habit so are adaptable
• Fear and passions lead us to make non-abstract choices in SoN

Question 9

Perfectability

Answer 9

• Our capacity to transform over time but has led to our decline
• Caused by accidental adaptation

Question 10

Formation of Civil Society

Answer 10

• Having to adapt to new circumstances forces us together
• Don’t have forsight to make tools, we stumble upon them
• Language

Question 11

Cry of Nature

Answer 11

• Language has no innate rationality
• First words held more significance, categorization came later

Question 12

Natural Humans

Answer 12

• H, savage and nasty
• R, not evil as they don’t understand morality

Question 13

Self Preservation

Answer 13

• H sees it as creating war
• R says it can’t happen without pitié, aversion to harm

Question 14

Egoism

Answer 14

• Reason leads to abstract thought
• Start to look at selves and others objectively

Question 15

Glaucus Statue

Answer 15

• Perfectability is responsible for modern deformity

Question 16

Pride

Answer 16

• Gaining talents birthed pride
• Saw ourselves as skilled so felt suprior to others
• Leads to competition

Question 17

Distrust in Natural Man

Answer 17

• Would be rare as we assume everyone is seeking surivial like us

Question 18

First Revolution/Golden Age

Answer 18

• We form small associations
• Families are created and women stop hunting
• Language develops and spreads by accidents
• Categorizing by standards of beauty

Question 19

Second Revolution

Answer 19

• Metallurgy leads to agriculture
• Labour and land creates private ownership

Question 20

Natural Inequalities

Answer 20

• Gives rise to social inequality due to different capacities

Question 21

Inheritance

Answer 21

• L, basis of consent to government
• R, basis for inequality
• Poor will realize they have nothing but haven’t lost anything
• Leads to servitude

Question 22

State of War

Answer 22

• Inequal society arising from the accumulation of property
• State to protect from poor
• NR means rich will always be threatened by numerous poor

Question 23

Creation of Government

Answer 23

• Rich and few want to protect themselves from the poor and many
• Agrees with L, is there to protect property
• Agrees with H, laws are by the rich for the rich
• All start as elective, elections lead to war

Question 24

Government and Inequality

Answer 24

• Same inequality that creates need for gov undermines govs ability to rule

Question 25

Slavery

Answer 25

• Everyone is enslaved
• Poor need others and the rich rely on the services of others

Question 26

Wealth

Answer 26

• Creates domination