Discourse on the Arts and Sciences

with better terms, “greater infrastructure spending than Clinton foresees and tax cuts that he says would propel stronger growth” (Washington Post). Now, whether or not these individual plans have a chance of working, we shall see further on in our discussion. For now, we can move on to discuss 3 major ideas: 1) The human want of inequality, and the origin thereof, 2) Inequality as a concept, is it bad or good? And 3) Is there a way we can combat income inequality, why or why not? In conclusion, we will come to a sensible solution to the problem of whose idea of combating income inequality we should support armed with the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. To begin with the topic of the origin of inequality we dive into Rousseau’s “Discourse on Inequality”. Written in 1754 for an essay contest discussing the origin of inequality, Rousseau made a daring leap into the ongoing eighteenth-century debates about the nature of man. Discarding the biblical explanation, he adamantly decided that in isolation (or in a universe of one man), inequality cannot and will not exist. It is only when faced with other creatures, man began to observe the differences between himself and his surroundings: “The repeated counterposition of the various creatures to himself, and of each species to the others, must naturally have engendered in man’s mind a perception of certain relations. These relationships, which we express by the words large, small, strong, weak, fast, slow, timorous, bold and…

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…

century. Some of his main works include the Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, and the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Both of these works were written in response to prompts from the Academy of Dijon. For the first discourse, the prompt was, “Has the restoration of the sciences and arts tended to purify morals?” and for the second discourse the prompt was, "What is the origin of inequality among men, and is it authorized by the natural law?" (Delaney “Encyclopedia of Philosophy”).…

Discourse of Integrating Science and Literacy We need to begin by examining the nature of the language experience in the dialogue between teacher and class . . . By its very nature a lesson is a verbal encounter through which the teacher draws information from the class, elaborates and generalizes it, and produces a synthesis. His skill is in selecting, prompting, improving, and generally orchestrating the exchange. (Bullock, 1975, p. 141) INTRODUCTION Science learning is not simply…

She was a seamstress, who lived with her mother. Rousseau and Therese had five children, all who were abandoned shortly after birth. This act would later be used against him by Voltaire and other philosophers. 1749 Rousseau entered his Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, in a competition that was organized by the Academy of Dijon. The Academy wanted submissions on the theme of “Arts and science had improved or corrupted public morals.” He won first place with his contrarian thesis. His book…

Over the past two centuries, discourse regarding sex has significantly increased. This has led to the formation of an entire “sexual mosaic.” Michel Foucault contends, throughout the chapter, that the science of sex was essentially made up of evasions; a will to ignorance. The proliferating dialogue in respect to sex, in actuality, served as a way to conceal sex rather than to expose its truths. Foucault delves even further into the types of discourse on sex that was used, specifically, during…

Thus the arts and sciences owe their birth to our vices.” On the contrary, Rousseau’s political belief stands with the idea that a state must be ruled by the “general will” of its citizens. A prime…

Students are engaged in a scientific investigation of tri-colored (Indian) corn and the effects of soaking it in water. The students began the investigation recording observations regarding the dried corn. Subsequetly, the students made predictions regarding the effect of soaking the dried corn in water. The dried corn was placed in water. Students will record their observations every five days. Students are encouraged to differentiate their observations from personal observations regarding how…

In Rousseau's Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts, human nature is established as the fundamentals of society. Human nature is shown to be necessary in regards to authenticity and virtue through simplistic activities. When writing this piece, Rousseau painted a thought of nature having intentions for mankind and the model of virtue shaped from it. Immediately, in the beginning of the book, unnatural artistic and scientific hobbies are denounced by Rousseau. Currently, in a time of the…

He used some of this inspiration to simply dissent the common idea of many Enlightenment thinkers attempting to usher in his own new era of Rousseau-esque thinking. Later in his life, he recalled his childhood and began to write his own books on how he felt the world should work and his ideas on human nature, emulating the method of writing of those peoples who influenced him. At this point in his life he decided that the “small town experience” wasn’t good enough and set off for the glamorous…