Jacques Derrida

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an English Philosopher whose work was influential especially in the eighteenth 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…

Government power has been found to be a necessary facet of civilized life, as such there are multiple views predominately found through the common theory of social contract, realized by famous thinkers, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke. Each of these individuals take an attempt in answering how government power should function. Additionally, these individuals elaborate on how said power should affect human living conditions. Hobbes, Rousseau, and Locke have different and…

For a long period of time, our society was accustomed and perhaps encouraged to maintain a certain level of secrecy regarding many components of our society. It was not acceptable to openly condemn and express personal opinions about topics, such as, women rights, religion, and politics. However, during the enlightenment, in the seventeenth century, there was a slight change. Authors such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Moliere, deliberately expressed their concerns about this “controversial” topics,…

appealing word plastered on many posters around college campuses. It is an aspirational objective that describes an optimistic future, where people are treated the same and own similar amounts of possessions. French political philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, would share these sentiments as he holds the belief that inequality that arose due to the creation of property is the root of many evils and that man was better off before in its more primitive stage in the Discourse on the Origin of…

The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote in his Duties of Women “In the union of the sexes each alike contributes to the common end, but in different ways.” Rousseau was speaking to his assertion that men and women are inherently different and that each must use their difference in order to be part of a politically just society. The key to Rousseau’s argument is the political realm from which he argues a woman’s place. However, his claims seem to stand at odds with his beliefs regarding…

intellectuals the ability to pursue the application of knowledge and reason in an effort to alter the traditional and religious beliefs. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and Denis Diderot were among some of the most influential authors and philosophers of the Age of Reason, each arguing that the general public needs to accept a new manner of thinking. In 1751, Jean-Jacques’ Rousseau wrote his famous article Discourse of the Arts and Sciences to dispute the…

Since human beings first started to roam the Earth, there have always been hierarchies within our small communities and large societies. These social structures have helped lead civilizations by making difficult decisions that would hopefully be advantageous to the masses and to give their respective community some security and stability in their lives. Technically, you could call this group of people a government. For centuries on end, governments have been equally analyzed as well as…

Introductory Paragraph There is no man capable of overcoming nature In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story The Birthmark Alymer attempts to do just that. All those who attempt to overcome nature will receive severe punishment In The Birthmark, it is proven that nature has undeniable dominance over man Georgiana’s immediate sadness from waking up after what seemed like a success is proof that no man is above nature. Her immediate expression displays worry when seemingly all should be well. She has…

Thomas Hobbes wrote Leviathan during the English Civil War, promoting the necessity of sovereignty in order to achieve a functional society. With the influence of Francis Bacon and Niccolò Machiavelli, Hobbes presented his theories through empiricism and the social dynamics of power. Hobbes’ philosophy is a denial of classical teachings and the acceptance of science or the new age of reason. Hobbes devotes chapters in the Leviathan to even explicitly go against traditional Aristotle teachings.…

nature of people, and the characteristics of nature makes it possible to define the quality of mankind. If so, what differentiates humans from other living beings, and makes it possible for people to name such quality as “humanity”? According to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, when differentiating men and animals, there exists “one further highly specific, distinctive, and indisputable feature of man, and that is his faculty of self-improvement” (33). With self-improvement, human beings…