In 1750, Rousseau created his first major work that would be further developed in the future: Discours les Sciences et les Arts -- better known as the First Discourse. In the First Discourse, Rousseau’s thesis stated “that social development, including of the arts and sciences, is corrosive of both civic virtue and individual moral character” (Stanford Encyclopedia). Rousseau discusses how society has been corrupted by modern morals, leading to individuals following conformism. According to Ty Landrum, a practitioner who has completed his doctoral degree at the University of Virginia, says “Rousseau's philosophy of education focuses upon rearing the dangerous desire for recognition that he calls "amour-propre"” (Landrum). Rousseau believes
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This publication was more accomplishing than the First Discourse; its content was what made Rousseau fall into the category of an Enlightenment thinker. The start of Rousseau developing his theories of “human social development and moral psychology”(Stanford Encyclopedia) can be seen. Rousseau discusses about two types of inequality: moral and natural (or physical). In the first half of the Discourse of Inequality, “The natural man is well balanced by his two trends, pity (which pushes it to the other) and self-preservation (which isolates). In marital status, laws and virtues play the roles of these two instincts” (Tim). Because it is believed natural man is to be like this by Rousseau, inequality isn’t prominent in nature. In the other half, Rousseau criticizes the inequality of property -- how work and oppression divides people into property. He also describes the development of technology and how it influences people’s virtues. The property class and the struggle of poor vs. rich led to the idea of a contract to solve the inequality issue. “But according to Rousseau, it is a liability: “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.”” (Tim). This is what led him to create the Social Contract in
This publication was more accomplishing than the First Discourse; its content was what made Rousseau fall into the category of an Enlightenment thinker. The start of Rousseau developing his theories of “human social development and moral psychology”(Stanford Encyclopedia) can be seen. Rousseau discusses about two types of inequality: moral and natural (or physical). In the first half of the Discourse of Inequality, “The natural man is well balanced by his two trends, pity (which pushes it to the other) and self-preservation (which isolates). In marital status, laws and virtues play the roles of these two instincts” (Tim). Because it is believed natural man is to be like this by Rousseau, inequality isn’t prominent in nature. In the other half, Rousseau criticizes the inequality of property -- how work and oppression divides people into property. He also describes the development of technology and how it influences people’s virtues. The property class and the struggle of poor vs. rich led to the idea of a contract to solve the inequality issue. “But according to Rousseau, it is a liability: “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.”” (Tim). This is what led him to create the Social Contract in