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Example research essay topic: Jean Jacques Rousseau State Of Nature - 1,523 words

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Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Rousseau and Democratic Theory The problems of interaction of human beings in the society, the relations of the individuals within the society and the society with the Nature interested the brilliant thinkers for all the times. One of them was an outstanding philosopher of the 17 th century Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes noted that the man in his nature lives to survive. He stated that the man in the State of Nature lives according the laws of Nature, i. e. ; the laws of war. The man needs to make the contractual agreement of obedience with the Sovereign that is a government.

According to Hobbes the Sovereign is that structure that consolidates the society and makes it able to resist the laws of nature. Hobbes wrote that a man transfers his rights to the Sovereign and these rights should not contradict to the laws of the Nature. Regardless of the government or law Hobbes believes no man can transferred his Right to save himself from Death, Wounds, and Imprisonment 1 The main duty of the Sovereign is to provide the safety of a man. Hobbes says the Sovereign should posses certain rights to execute its duty. The power has the right to punish those who break the law, because the law regulates the safety. The power has the right of war; that is the Sovereign is entitled to declare the war and stop it.

The Sovereign is authorized to send the people to the war. The Sovereign has the right to judge, to define whether the person guilty or not. All these rights are the rights of a man aimed to provide his safety but the man transfers his rights to the Sovereign. Once the rights are transferred they are not to be claimed back. The Sovereign may send a man to war though it contradicts to the law of Nature, but the Sovereign may send him because the man sometimes can not understand the reasons...

there be some rights which no man can be understood by any words, or other signs, to have abandoned or transferred 2. If a man transfers the rights in order to provide the his safety to the Sovereign and the state of Nature in its essence is a competition, i. e. war then the power may send the man to war thus risking his life and violating the natural law.

That means the power in its essence is violent. Once a man transferred his rights to provide the safety to the Sovereign, these rights can not be claimed back. Thomas Hobbes in his works substituted the violence of the state of nature by the terror of Sovereign which is the contractual power. The British philosopher Locke criticized him that the ruler's rights as well as those of everyone are restrained by the laws of nature; the right to life, liberty, and property 3.

One of the brilliant evidences of the Theory of Power worked out by Hobbes was presented by a political philosopher Hanna Arendt during the tribunal of the Nazi leaders after the World War II. One of the most indicative examples of her statements was the justification of the death penalty of the Nazi Eichmann. According to Eichmann he did not want to share the earth with the Jews, and then the Jewish government is not obliged to share the earth with Eichman 4. That is the Sovereign exercised his right to protect the society and met the Eichman's desire not to make him share the Earth with the Jews. If it is assumed as fair then there could be two solutions, to eliminate all the Jews or to eliminate Eichman, but that was the desire of Eichman not share the earth with the Jews but not of the Jewish people. Locke's views on government are presented in his work Two Treatises of Government.

In summary, with this work, Locke defended the proposition that government rests on popular consent and rebellion is permissible when government subverts the ends (the protection of life, liberty, and property) for which it is established 5. While Hobbes considers a man to be permanently in the state of war thus being brutal in his nature, Locke views man as moral by his nature. According to Locke man is moral because he can provide his security and safety and thus defend his natural rights by the higher level of morality more efficiently. Locke says that the original state of nature was happy and characterized by the tolerance. That was a state of pre-social men.

According to Locke all human beings in their natural state, were equal and free to pursue life, health, liberty, and possessions; and that these were inalienable rights. 6 Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the best philosophers of the 18 th century. His interest was to explore the relations of human beings and Nature, science and art and to transfer these relations into the society. In his Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts he write that the civilization is harmful and pursuit of the arts and sciences, merely promotes idleness, and the resulting political inequality encourages alienation 7. Jean-Jacques Rousseau suggested a method of education which would minimize the damage by noticing, encouraging, and following the natural proclivities of the student instead of striving to eliminate them 8. The state of nature was one of the main subjects of study of Rousseau. Jean-Jacques Rousseau also studied in his Discourses various aspects of the human activity.

Thus he examined the danger the sciences and arts may bring. According to him all sciences and arts are born from our vices. Astronomy was born from superstition; eloquence from ambition, hate, flattery, and falsehood; geometry from avarice, physics from vain curiosity; all, even moral philosophy, from human pride. 9 Rousseau attacks the scientists and artists saying that their motivation is rather selfish, they want to be praised by the society. Society begins to emphasize specialized talents rather than virtues such as courage, generosity, and temperance.

This leads to yet another danger: the decline of military virtue, which is necessary for a society to defend itself against aggressors 10. While describing a human being in the state of nature Rousseau argues with Hobbes saying that his state of nature of a human being, i. e. the state of war is just the socialized state with the laws, governments and technologies removed. According to Rousseau human beings could be in a permanent state if war only after complex calculations and evaluations of property issues, consequences of war, recognizing the human beings as potential threats and minimum language skills, i. e.

possessing all the features of the socialized human beings. Rousseau says that the self-preservation is one of the basic instincts of the human beings, their motivation, but arguing with Hobbes he says that such motivation is not the only one. If it were like this according to Rousseau human beings would be monsters. Human beings have the trend to develop themselves to the civilized state unlike other creatures. Rousseau says that human beings in their natural state are much better than in their civilized society. At the same time he does not advocating a return to their natural state.

Such collision of Rousseau's philosophic views leads to a deadlock. Rousseau describes the evolution of the human beings which leads to the state of war motivating by the property obtained by the human beings in the course if evolution, i. e. socialization.

He says that the state is built on the desire of those who posses the power to convince others who do not that it is in their interests to take the situation as it is. In the speculations of Rousseau on Equality, Freedom, and Sovereignty are very significant. He tries to compare the freedom of an individual with a general will of a society. True sovereignty, is not simply the will of those in power, but rather the general will.

Sovereignty does have the proper authority override the particular will of an individual or even the collective will of a particular group of individuals 11. One of the famous quotes Rousseau is Man was / is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. (Social Contract, Vol. IV, p. 131). All three philosophers are great in their contributions to the development of the society. All of them put the basis for the modern social science and the structure of the modern society and democracy. All of them are outstanding thinkers who developed the theory of the state and society.

Citation LEVIATHAN Ibid John Locke Stephen J. Whitfield Peter Landry Ibid Jean-Jacques Rousseau Ibid The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Ibid Ibid Bibliography L EV I AT H A N by Thomas Hobbes, available at web, retrieved 21. 11. 2005 John Locke, available at web retrieved 21. 11. 2005 Hannah Arendt by Stephen J. Whitfield, available at web 21. 11. 2005 Peter Landry, John Locke (1632 - 1704): "The Philosopher of Freedom. ", available at web 21. 11. 2005 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, available at web retrieved 21. 11. 2005 The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, available at web retrieved 21. 11. 2005


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Research essay sample on Jean Jacques Rousseau State Of Nature

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