cultural_rousseau

= Cultural = Rousseau was a philosopher in the eighteenth century who greatly influenced modern culture. His ideas were very radical for the time that he lived in. One of these thoughts came from his book, //Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men.// Commentary on this piece of work is displayed in “Rousseau: Discourse on Equality (Summary), “ in which the author declares, “…This is mine, and found people simple enough to believe, was the true founder of civil society…but for the philosopher it is iron and wheat which have civilized men and ruined the human race” (Philosophy & Philosophers). Rousseau believes that the individual has goodness within them, yet thinks that “society” takes that away from them. To him, jealousy is what characterizes the culture of a modern “society.” In his writing, he sees “societies” as a way for individuals to look at themselves and others and notice the inequalities among them. This “ruins” the “human race” because they focus solely on this inequality, and therefore, only care about themselves, when they have the capacity to also care for others. Rousseau was in favor of a natural man, whose culture consisted of a balance between pity and self preservation. Yet, people cannot go back in time to become a natural man. Societies and their cultures needed to find a way to better themselves with the conditions and human interactions that they already had. Author, James J. Delaney, is interested in Rousseau’s thoughts and describes one of his strongest points in his work, //The Social Contract//. He states, “‘Man was/is born free; and everywhere he is in chains’…Rousseau’s //Social Contract// explores the potential for moving from the specious social contract to a legitimate one” (Delaney). Rousseau believes that people are supposed to be born free, but they are not because the culture of society can “chain” them down. He recognized that people have the “potential” to control their life and environment, therefore, not stopping them from influencing others. This “potential” eventually seeped into the culture of a society. This led Rousseau to conclude that societies were corrupt because there was always a need for “control,” and this oftentimes led to the individual not being able to be their own person. Societies have read about Rousseau, reflected upon their culture, and have tried to implement his ideas of a “legitimate social contract.” One of the most prominent examples of this is the evolving culture of the United States of America. America has had one of the most drastic cultural changes in history, especially when referencing race relations. This country came from enslaving Africans in the 1700s-1800s to passing landmark legislations that aimed to have equality among all races from the 1960s-present. This cultural change resulted in there being no more "control" over people due to them being below them, and most of all, it “moved” the people to a different mindset, which originated with intolerance and ended with acceptance. There have been modern societies, such as the United States of America, that have realized the need to have a “legitimate social contract,” and have done this by working upon their culture.

Works Cited Delaney, James J. “Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1798).” //Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy//. n.p., 21 October 2005. Web. 18 October 2012.

“Rousseau: Discourse on Inequality (Summary).”//Philosophy & Philosophers//. n.p., 21 May 2012. Web. 19 October 2012.

-Kathleen Spencer

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