Jeans

If men are equal, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau claims in the preface to his discourse on inequality (40), why do some men live in large lavish houses, while others struggle on the street, unsure of their next meal? The distance between the rich and the poor has been increasing steadily over the last decade, but in reality it has been expanding ever since man separated from Rousseau’s original state of nature. The state of nature is different than that which is natural, and within Rousseau’s state of…

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a renowned French philosopher and a great political thinker of the eighteenth century. He expressed his theory of Social Contract in his famous book- “Social Contract”. He was born in Geneva in 1712 and finally settled in Paris. He was deeply affected by the political situation in France. He was greatly influenced by Plato, Montesquieu and Cicero, etc. His own ideas deeply influenced Kant and Hegel, the well-known German philosopher. Initially his views and…

Lord of the Flies and The Philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau Organized society is one of the oldest and most extensively studied aspects of human history. During the Enlightenment, the pinnacle of societal exploration, European philosophers were encouraged to question their beliefs and government, which eventually prompted each to form separate theories on how humans and society should interact. These ideas were about society and human nature, and are explored thoroughly in William Golding’s…

Though brief and comedic, Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No Exit” offers insight into the basic ideas of his philosophy about freedom vs confinement. Sartre is able to portray the applicability of this philosophy to daily life though the commonplace setting of the work and the diversity of the basic character types found throughout the play. The main principles behind this one of Sartre’s philosophies are detailed through the three main characters, Cradeau Inez and Estelle, and their confinement to a…

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a very influential Genevan philosopher in the early 18th century. Rousseau believed that man was born equal however society and advancements in mankind created inequality. Furthermore, Rousseau states that there are two different types of inequality; the first inequality being natural inequality, which is established by nature and consists in the difference of physical features and qualities of mind, and the second being political inequality, which depends on a kind of…

The Age of Enlightenment, which lasted from roughly the late 17th century up to the beginning of the 19th century, was humanity 's growth into intellectual maturity. Through scientific inquiry and an emphasis on reasoned discussion, mankind was finally able to think for itself rather than appealing to the authority of the Church, Greek philosophers, or other sources of supposedly revealed truths. The Age of Enlightenment was the period of scientific Awakening; The Age of Enlightenment was mainly…

Sometimes it is easier to blame other for our wrongdoings, than to admit to oneself and taking full responsibility for our own actions. In the book Existentialism and Human Emotions, the author, Jean-Paul Sartre address the statement, “existence precedes essence” and makes two logical conclusions such as freedom and responsibility that ties to the concepts of anguish, forlornness, and despair. The understanding of “existentialism precedes essence” is an awareness that there is no predefined…

“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau). This apparent paradox was the first sentence in The Social Contract, and shares Jean Jacques Rousseau’s thoughts on the balance between freedom and confinement, which we will see as an ongoing theme throughout the book. In other words, Rousseau theorizes about the best way to establish a political community while addressing the flaws of a government that implements natural authority and force. Rousseau’s political views can be best…

absolutism, the church, and the individual’s role within society in both Europe and the Americas. This period referred to as the Enlightenment brought religion, economics, government, and the role of society and it’s people into question. Born in 1712, Jean-Jacques Rousseau helped to vocalize the Enlightenment ideals of natural rights, equality, and the importance of individuals living in communion with one another. Born in Swiss-Geneva, Rousseau came from humble beginnings, raised differently…

Jean-Paul Sartre, in his plays No Exit and The Respectful Prostitute, demonstrates existentialist concepts, especially those pertaining to people’s relationships with others. One such concept is that of the idea that “hell is other people”, meaning when people judge themselves they reflect on other people 's thoughts and opinions about them. Therefore, if the relationship the person has with the other is bad, then the other person may seem as if they are hell since their objective view of the…