Present Books During Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
| Original Title: | Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes |
| ISBN: | 0486434141 (ISBN13: 9780486434148) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Paperback | Pages: 73 pages Rating: 3.82 | 12372 Users | 398 Reviews
Relation Supposing Books Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
If humans are benevolent by nature, how do societies become corrupt? And how do governments founded upon the defense of individual rights degenerate into tyranny? These are the questions addressed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, a strikingly original inquiry into much-explored issues of 18th-century (and subsequent) philosophy: human nature and the best form of government. Rousseau takes an innovative approach by introducing a "hypothetical history" that presents a theoretical view of people in a pre-social condition and the ensuing effects of civilization. In his sweeping account of humanity's social and political development, the author develops a theory of human evolution that prefigures Darwinian thought and encompasses aspects of ethics, sociology, and epistemology. He concludes that people are inevitably corrupt as a result of both natural (or physical) inequalities and moral (or political) inequalities. One of the most influential works of the Enlightenment, the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality offers a thought-provoking account of society's origins and a keen criticism of unequal modern political institutions.
Identify Based On Books Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
| Title | : | Discourse on the Origin of Inequality |
| Author | : | Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 73 pages |
| Published | : | June 4th 2004 by Dover Publications (first published 1755) |
| Categories | : | Philosophy. Nonfiction. Politics. Classics. Cultural. France |
Rating Based On Books Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
Ratings: 3.82 From 12372 Users | 398 ReviewsWrite Up Based On Books Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
I shall hopefully write a proper review once I have composed my thoughts, but for now I will seek to emulate the delighted and reverential tone of those critics whose choiciest lines of praise are plastered on the back-cover, front-cover and insides of books:"A magnificent triumph of imagination, scholarship and reason!" ***The discourse is divided into two parts. Part I deals with Man in the "State of Nature" (a concept used to denote the hypothetical conditions of what the lives of peopleAn interesting take on why society has become corrupt but the axiom, provided in the first part, is purely speculative and seems very improbable. Reading it reminded me of being at school and having to struggle through De rerum natura with all its rather bizarre arguments (or maybe that was just my way of seeing things at the time) used by Lucretius to prove the mortality of the soul. I think it might be a good idea to read more of Rousseau's work to get a fuller picture of what he was saying
I had a much harder time diving into this discourse compared to his previous on art and science which I thoroughly enjoyed. Once I got through his ramblings, which was about half of the book, I was thoroughly captivated though which salvaged my rating and of course overall enjoyment. It seems to be an imperative to remember the timing of its release and not apply modern filters, otherwise you can easily groan and guffaw at his treatise on the "noble savages" in the first half of the book. If you
This was one of the first works of Rousseau (1755), the fruit of a public concourse (he always was in need of money). It's already clearly a work of genius, although certainly not completely thought through. Anyway it reveals the spirit of Rousseau's thinking: there's no such thing as original sin, civilization (and the unilateral use of reason) has brought decline to man and introduced inequality; but there is no way back, man has to proceed (so, in contrast with what often is stated, he does
Rousseau is rather convincing on humanity in a primitive state. He's full of wondrous examples and beautiful delineations in which he presents a view of nature that runs counter to Hobbes (and in some respects to Golding), yet how relevant such an analysis to civilized man is, I am not sure. We are born into society, born into inequality, from which there can be no hope of return. Judging from Rousseau's quoting of Locke, I think it is fair to assess that he would agree that a return is
Why rulers are rulers and why we serve them18 January 2013 I found this book an interesting read and it does has some interesting concepts. While it sort of reads like Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, much of the ideas are based upon speculation and Rousseau's conclusions seem to be little more than guess work. Mind you, it is interesting to see such a discourse written over one hundred years before Darwin wrote his Origin of the Species, and it appears that Darwin has borrowed from this text.
This book gave a very interesting argument as to why there is inequality in the world. As a person who doesn't tend to read books of this nature I have to say I enjoyed this one.
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