Quote:
"Tant que les hommes se contentèrent de leurs cabanes rustiques, tant qu'ils se bornèrent à coudre leurs habits de peaux avec des épines ou des aretes, à se parer de plumes et de coquillages, à se peindre le corps de diverses couleurs, à perfectionner ou embellir leurs arcs et leurs flèches, à tailler avec des peirres tranchantes quelques canots de pecheurs ou quelques grossiers instruments de musique; en un mot, tant qu'ils ne s'appliquèrent qu'à des arts qui n'avaient pas besoins du concours de plusieurs mains, ils vécurent libres, sains, bons et heureux, autant qu'ils pouvaient l'etre par leur nature, et continuèrent à jouir entre eux des douceurs d'un commerce indépendant: Mais dès l'instant qu'un homme eut besoin du secours d'un autre, dès qu'on s'aperçut qu'il était utile à un seul d'avoir des provisions pour deux, l'égalité disparut, la propriété s'introduisit, le travail devint nécessaire, et les vastes forets se changèrent en des campagnes riantes qu'il fallut arroser de la sueur des hommes, et dans lesquelles on vit bientot l'ésclavage et la misère germer et croitre avec les moissons."
Synopsis:
Written in 1752 in response to a subject entitled: "What is the origin of inequality among men and if it is authorized by natural law?" Rousseau refers to the human state of nature. He said that man in the state of nature is opposed to civil rights in many ways. He believed that men naturally would be much better off then the socialized man. He believed that as men worked for himself, all lived happy and free. Once men started working together however, equality disappeared, which lead to un-happiness and slavery.
Readers Response:
I found Rousseau's writting and philosophy to be very unique. I can see why other's such as Voltaire put Rousseau under so much scrutiny for the topic. Although I don't totally agree with his thoughts on the start of inequality, I did find his style of writing to be very intriguing and sparked interest in my own thoughts of inequality. This was a very controversial topic that Rousseau dared to speak about and I though it was a very interesting point of view.
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6 comments:
I loved this reading. I thought he made some very interesting points and I found myself thinking of things I hadn't thought to consider before. My favorite line was << Chacun commenca a regarder les autres et a vouloir etre regarde soi-meme, et l'estime publique eut un prix.>> Not only do you have to learn to be happy with the things/talents that you do have, you also have to learn not to look/want other's things. It's something that we hear/are taught all the time but it makes sense every time I hear it!
I kinda liked his pessimism in saying that man cannot live in harmony with man. I don't know that I agree with it, I just liked his boldness in arguing such a negative idea. He makes a very strong argument though. I don't know of any societies that were free of jealousy and inequality, so maybe he is right.
I agree with all of you: Rousseau thinks outside the box. He pushed society into considering new ideas and some of these were rejected while others became ingrained elements of our society today. You might not be surprised that one time he fled France for England because people were so suspicious of his ideas, they stoned his home.
It was really interesting to read his ideas on how man originated. How he went from just a single person living by himself, to starting family units. I also liked what he said about pride. It really does start when someone is thinking of themselves and they wanted high public esteem.
I also took a likening to Rousseau's ideas of pride. It made me self analyze to see if his explanations were relative to my life. He was right. Pride, in society, is the source of its greatest problems.
Rousseau's style of writing was easy to understand. It was interesting to read his vision of inequality. He made some interesting points about what's important in life and how things should be done.
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