The Discourse Of Inequality By Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Enlightenment Essay
Imagine yourself living in world with no social expectations, no competitions and no submission to the social hierarchy. Imagine yourself being free, peaceful, strong and powerful. Jean-Jacques Rousseau calls this state the natural state of man, the state that everyone should aspire to live in and that brings power to an individual. By exploring the natural state of man we are able to see how Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed a new understanding of the individual.
According to Rousseau man should want to live in the natural state. Nithin Coca is a journalist who writes from Colombia University discusses Rousseau’s ideas about the Natural State by saying, “Man in his natural state had more equality and freedom from …show more content…
other men than did man in civilized society. To him, power, slavery and inequalities are all aspects of civilized society”(Coca, par. 4). Man has much more freedom and equality when living in the natural state. When a man lives in the natural state, he is able to do anything without having to judge by society and their expectations. In a cultivated society people are brutalized when others do not accept their behavior and way of thinking. Man in the state of nature did not need a system of owning slaves. A man must be able to do things on his own without being dependent or controlled by. Slavery is the outcome of inequality in a civilized society. Living in a civilized world always results in competition and struggle for authority. John Gingell is a lecturer at the Nene College of Higher Education and the author of “Modern Political Thought: A Reader”; in this book he pulls out influential works of political thought and places them into historical context. He discusses the natural state and the civilized state of man by saying that “The former breathes only peace and liberty; he desires only to live and be free from labor. Civilized man, on the other hand, is always moving, sweating, toiling and racking his brains to find still more laborious occupations” (Gingell, 142). A man who lives in a cultivated world is always in motion with so many burdens, yet he still tries to find a more laborious job to keep him busier than he already is. However a natural man lives independently so that he is free from heavy labor. His only desires are to live a simple life and strive for happiness. James Delaney, an author at the Niagara University wrote entry for the Encyclopedia of Philosophy that examines the origin of inequality in Rousseau’s perspective, he describes natural man is at peace without having to worry about what comes to him in the future (Delaney, par.
23). Man in his natural state does not care of what lies ahead of him. He has inner peace when he is not aware of his future. He is at peace because make no comparisons to others of how much more beautiful or intelligent he may be. The man at natural state will be at peace by just attempting to do whatever he does to satisfy himself. The “Discourse of Inequality” is book written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In this book Rousseau writes about the inequality of natural state he says “Man is weak when he is dependent, and is his own master before he comes to be strong” (Rousseau, 33). Rousseau explains that when man lives in a civilized society there is always someone smarter, stronger and more attractive than he is. However man is in his natural state, he becomes his own mentor and teaches himself that what doesn’t kill him makes him …show more content…
stronger.
Rousseau has developed the new understanding of the individual by examining the natural state of man. The individual in the natural life has a much more simple life than one who lives in civilized society. The individual does not worry or struggle about competition and comparison so he’s mind is free and at peace. The individual in the natural state has independence and so he stands up for himself. When man is independent he has more confidence and with confidence he has more strength to overcome obstacles and have power.
Works Cited
Coca, Nithin. "Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's Basic Political Writings." Yahoo! Contributor
Network. Yahoo! Voices, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2013.
Delaney, James J. “Rousseau, Jean-Jacques: Life.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Niagara.edu, 21 Oct. 1995. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. .
Gingell, John. Modern Political Thought: A Reader. Ed. Adrian Little and Christopher
Winch. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discours sur l 'origine de l 'inégalité des hommes. 1755. 66 pages
Bibliography
Bertram, Christopher. "Life: Jean Jacques Rousseau." Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Stanford.edu, 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2012.
.
This website is titled, “Jean Jacques Rousseau” is about his life, conjectural moral psychology, political philosophy, language, education, and his legacy. One important point from this website is the Discourse on the Origins of Inequality which states that “If humans are naturally good at this stage of human evolution, their goodness is merely a negative and amounts to the absence of evil.” This website also explains how Rousseau’s social contract questions politics and explains how it is important for a human to have freedom with the authority of the state. This website had excessive amount of details and shouldn’t have written much about his early life. I would recommend this to all high school students due to the length and complexity of the website.
Coca, Nithin. "Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's Basic Political Writings." Yahoo! Contributor
Network. Yahoo! Voices, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2013.
This article titled, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's Basic Political Writings Natural Law Versus Natural Man” by Nithin Coca is about the natural state of man in comparison to the civil society. This article reviews quotes from Rousseau and Locke then puts them into the context of natural laws, society and the natural state of man. The author makes a lot of connections from humanity to civilized society sometimes it seems redundant. I thought that this article was fairly easy to read there were parts where the author was unclear. I would recommend this article to high school students learning about the natural state of man.
"Corruption Perceptions Index 2012." 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency
International, 2012. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.
.
“Corruption Perceptions Index 2012” was a database the ranked the world’s countries’ governments from most transparent to least transparent. It uses color codes to signify level of transparency and then listen the countries rankings at the bottom. I think that this was a very useful source because it gives people visual aid when looking at the world’s transparency. I recommend this to anyone looking for any type of transparency statistics, not just transparency within the government.
Delaney, James J. “Rousseau, Jean-Jacques: Life.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Niagara.edu, 21 Oct. 1995. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. .
“Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712—1778)” by James J. Delaney is about the basic outline of Rousseau’s’ life. It informs us about his early life all they way up to his death while mentioning his works. It also tells us about his personal life and friends. I think that it is a clear and concise source and I recommend it to 7th graders and above for the clear language and interesting facts.
"Ermenonville : History, Map, Views of Park Jean-Jacques Rousseau." Ermenonville :
History, Map, Views of Park Jean-Jacques Rousseau. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec.
2012.
The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Park made by the marquis of Girardin is a park dedicated to Rousseau located in Ermenonville, France. The park was the last resting place of Rousseau and has his tomb there. The source did not provide enough information besides the whereabouts of his resting place and where he spent his last days. I do not think the park has enough decorations or particularly unique designs that somehow reflects Rousseau. I recommend this source to people who have an interest in parks because thats what it is.
Fenn, Peter. "Make Your Case:." Peter Fenn 's Response to ' ' Politico, 23 Apr. 2009.
Web. 04 Feb. 2013. .
Peter Fenn’s response to a question on a website called the Arena was about whether or not the government should reveal information on the its questioning methods to the public. Peter Fenn answers by saying that the government should be transparent and open with the people. I think that this is a good source because readers get to directly hear the opinions of the famous political strategists. But only the first part of Fenn’s response is significantly helpful when it comes to researching transparency. I recommend this source to people who are looking for opinions on transparency because this is exactly what they are looking for. But it may be too complex for young readers due to the wide range of vocabulary
Gay, Peter. "Jean Jacques Rousseau." Age of Enlightenment - Great Ages of Man. 1st ed.
New York: Time Life, 1966. 63-65. Print.
“Age of Enlightenment - Great Ages of Man” by Peter Gay is a short biography that covers Rousseau’s life and inspirations for his famous works such as the Emile, Social Contract and Confessions. This source illustrates Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s life and works by using detailed explanations and facts about what kind of person he was. It describes many of Rousseau’s thought behind several of his writings such as La Nouvelle Heloise. This article uses very descriptive yet unchallenging vocabulary that is suitable for high school students analyzing who Rousseau is.
Gingell, John. Modern Political Thought: A Reader. Ed. Adrian Little and Christopher
Winch. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.
“Modern Political Thought: A Reader” by John Gingell is a collection of important parts of political works written by influence Enlightenment thinkers. Some of these works are Hobbes’ Leviathan, and Rousseau’s The Social Contract. The book provides background information of the thinker and puts them into historical context. I think that this book is overall easy to read besides its occasional difficult vocabulary. I would recommend this book to a high school student who is learning about works of important Enlightenment thinkers.
“Jean Jacques Rousseau.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2011): 1-3.
History Reference Center. Web. 13 Nov.2012
This database, titled “Jean Jacques Rousseau” written by the Columbia University Press, explains Rousseau’s life and works, his thought, and impact on the world today. One of Rousseau’s most important achievements was writing his own social contract, which stated, “We are by nature good, and with the observation that in society we are not good…. But human nature does not go backward, and we never return to the times of innocence and equality, when we have once departed from them." It also explained how Rousseau aimed for freedom and includes general will which is what logical people would choose for the general good. I think that this database was very well written and descriptive, but it could’ve written more about his work than his early life. I would recommend this to early high school students based on the complex information and vocabulary.
"Jean-Jacques Rousseau." Find A Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records and Online
Memorials. N.p., 1 Jan. 2001. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
This specific grave belongs to Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It is located in the Pantheon, which is a famous French Monument. Rousseau’s body is actually beneath the Pantheon, but on top of it is a wooden structure that looks like a replica of a house. Also, his grave is laid next to the grave of Voltaire, who was known to be Rousseau’s enemy. This grave is very different than the ones that I have seen before and is located in a very interesting place. I would recommend this to anyone who is studying about Rousseau or who is fascinated by him.
Kreis, Steven. “Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778.” Jean Jacques Rousseau,
1712-1778. N.p., 4 Aug. 2000. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
“Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712 – 1778” by Steven Kreis is a short biography about Rousseau’s life and his achievements in literature and The Social Contract. It also mentions about his influence on modern education. This biography provides few details on Rousseau’s famous works. The author uses complex words and adds too much unnecessary details about Rousseau’s life rather than his works. I would recommend this biography to eleventh and twelfth graders who are looking for information about Rousseau’s noted works.
Maurice, Cranston. "Rousseau, Jean-Jacques." Britannica Biographies (2012): 1. History
Reference Center. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
“Rousseau, Jean-Jacques)” by Maurice Cranston is about Rousseau’s life. It talks about his personal life often and incorporates his works during his life time. It explains his life in great detail and clarity. I think this is a good source because of the amount of information it provides about his personal life and works. I recommend it to 8th graders and above considering the complex language at times.
Obama, Barack. "Transparency and Open Government." The White House. White House,
n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.
.
“Transparency and Open Government” was about what President Obama declared the government should be.
He states that the government should be transparent and how he is going to make it happen. This is an excellent source for transparency because these words are from the President himself and is found on the official White House website. It is a good amount of information on transparency and openness in the government and is written in a clear succinct manner. I recommend this to anyone looking for information on government transparency.
Roberts, Alasdair. "Govt Transparency A Necessity Not A Luxury” Scoop. Scoop, 16
Nov. 2012. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.
.
“Govt Transparency A Necessity Not a Luxury” is about Professor Roberts speech on how transparency is needed in a government. He also mentions the negative outcomes due to a lack of transparency. This is a good source to look for negative results because of the government’s non-existent transparency. It has a lot of strongly opinionated statements and paraphrasing so readers can get to the main point faster although some of the paraphrasing may seem redundant. I recommend this to high school students and beyond due to complex references and vocabulary.
Rousseau, Jean J. Contents for Rousseau 's Emile. 1762. Web. 19 Nov.
2012.
.
“Emilé” Book 1: 1-90 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was about the natural behavior and the corrected behavior of man. He mentions that humans act: greedy, mean, and unfair. Rousseau says this is because of the environment we live in and our will to change nature. He backs up his ideas by selecting books from famous scholars from Greek and Roman times providing short summaries of their writings. I think that his ideas are good but get redundant by mentioning the same ideas but paraphrased. Overall I think that this is an eloquent piece of writing. I suggest it to high school students and above because the complex style of writing and vocabulary.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discours sur l 'origine de l 'inégalité des hommes. 1755. 66 pages
This book, “A Discourse Upon the Origin and Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind” written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1754 is about the kinds of inequality, which are natural or physical and ethical and political. Rousseau also writes about how it is important for people to have their own necessities. This book had extremely difficult vocabulary and most times, I didn’t know what I was reading. I would recommend this to higher high-school students because of the intricate language and ideas used by Rousseau.
"Rousseau Island." Geneve-Tourism. Geneva, Switzerland, 1835. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
.
Rousseau Island is an island located in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1628, the island was once called Boat Island because it was used as a shipyard. Then in 1832, the island was dedicated to the great Enlightenment philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The island turned into a public park and a statue sculpted by James Pradier was added to the park. By the looks of this site I think it’s a romantic place with a special view of the city. I recommend this location to people who are looking for a peaceful, beautiful, yet symbolic place to spend time.
Sheldon, Garrett Ward. Encyclopedia of Political Thought. New York: Facts on File,
2001. Print.
This article from an encyclopedia title, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau” talks about Rousseau’s life as a French political philosopher. It talks about his thoughts on the social contract, individuality, civil society, and general will. It also talks about how these thoughts led to the writings of his books, which were Discourses on the Arts and Sciences and on the Origin of Inequality, The Social Contract, Emile, and Confessions. This was a well-written article and explained a little about his life before, but a lot about his life as a philosopher. I would recommend this article to anyone who has a large interest in Rousseau or anyone who is studying him, due to the complex details.
"Transparency." Transparency. European Commission, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 05 Feb.
2013. .
This website titled, “Transparency” explains the ways that some European governments use transparency. For example, they let their citizens have a right to know how the European institutions are preparing these decisions, who participates in preparing them, who receives funding from the EU budget, and what documents are held or produced to prepare and adopt the legal acts. This was very helpful to me because it showed me that some governments today still use Rousseau’s ideas on transparency. I would recommend this to anyone who is doing a great deal of research on Jean Jacques Rousseau.
Rousseau, Jean J. "THE SOCIAL CONTRACT." Rousseau: Social Contract. N.p., 8 July
2012.Web. 20 Nov. 2012. .
“The Social Contract” is book written in 1762 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It is about man and their contributions to society and how the Social Contract would provide the solution to the many problems in society. This article is very detailed on the effects of the social contract. It uses complex words it is hard to understand what Rousseau it trying to explain to us. Because of the complex examples I would recommend this article to college students learning about the works of Rousseau.
Wilson, Ellen Judy. and Peter Hanns. Reill. Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment. New
York: Facts On File, 1996. Print.
The section on Rousseau from the “Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment” by Ellen Judy Wilson and Peter Hanns Reill is about Rousseau’s personal life as well as his work. It starts off by starting from the very beginning of his life with many details. It tells you a lot about his personal life, opinion, and relationships. The author then goes on to describe that last years of Rousseau and after the mentioning of his death, the author describes Rousseau’s work thoroughly. I think that it is a good source because it tells you a lot about his person life and opinions and his achievements. I recommend it to 7th graders and above because of the concise language and clear details.
Imagine yourself living in world with no social expectations, no competitions and no submission to the social hierarchy. Imagine yourself being free, peaceful, strong and powerful. Jean-Jacques Rousseau calls this state the natural state of man, the state that everyone should aspire to live in and that brings power to an individual. By exploring the natural state of man we are able to see how Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed a new understanding of the individual.
According to Rousseau man should want to live in the natural state. Nithin Coca is a journalist who writes from Colombia University discusses Rousseau’s ideas about the Natural State by saying, “Man in his natural state had more equality and freedom from …show more content…
other men than did man in civilized society. To him, power, slavery and inequalities are all aspects of civilized society”(Coca, par. 4). Man has much more freedom and equality when living in the natural state. When a man lives in the natural state, he is able to do anything without having to judge by society and their expectations. In a cultivated society people are brutalized when others do not accept their behavior and way of thinking. Man in the state of nature did not need a system of owning slaves. A man must be able to do things on his own without being dependent or controlled by. Slavery is the outcome of inequality in a civilized society. Living in a civilized world always results in competition and struggle for authority. John Gingell is a lecturer at the Nene College of Higher Education and the author of “Modern Political Thought: A Reader”; in this book he pulls out influential works of political thought and places them into historical context. He discusses the natural state and the civilized state of man by saying that “The former breathes only peace and liberty; he desires only to live and be free from labor. Civilized man, on the other hand, is always moving, sweating, toiling and racking his brains to find still more laborious occupations” (Gingell, 142). A man who lives in a cultivated world is always in motion with so many burdens, yet he still tries to find a more laborious job to keep him busier than he already is. However a natural man lives independently so that he is free from heavy labor. His only desires are to live a simple life and strive for happiness. James Delaney, an author at the Niagara University wrote entry for the Encyclopedia of Philosophy that examines the origin of inequality in Rousseau’s perspective, he describes natural man is at peace without having to worry about what comes to him in the future (Delaney, par.
23). Man in his natural state does not care of what lies ahead of him. He has inner peace when he is not aware of his future. He is at peace because make no comparisons to others of how much more beautiful or intelligent he may be. The man at natural state will be at peace by just attempting to do whatever he does to satisfy himself. The “Discourse of Inequality” is book written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In this book Rousseau writes about the inequality of natural state he says “Man is weak when he is dependent, and is his own master before he comes to be strong” (Rousseau, 33). Rousseau explains that when man lives in a civilized society there is always someone smarter, stronger and more attractive than he is. However man is in his natural state, he becomes his own mentor and teaches himself that what doesn’t kill him makes him …show more content…
stronger.
Rousseau has developed the new understanding of the individual by examining the natural state of man. The individual in the natural life has a much more simple life than one who lives in civilized society. The individual does not worry or struggle about competition and comparison so he’s mind is free and at peace. The individual in the natural state has independence and so he stands up for himself. When man is independent he has more confidence and with confidence he has more strength to overcome obstacles and have power.
Works Cited
Coca, Nithin. "Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's Basic Political Writings." Yahoo! Contributor
Network. Yahoo! Voices, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2013.
Delaney, James J. “Rousseau, Jean-Jacques: Life.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Niagara.edu, 21 Oct. 1995. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. .
Gingell, John. Modern Political Thought: A Reader. Ed. Adrian Little and Christopher
Winch. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discours sur l 'origine de l 'inégalité des hommes. 1755. 66 pages
Bibliography
Bertram, Christopher. "Life: Jean Jacques Rousseau." Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Stanford.edu, 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2012.
.
This website is titled, “Jean Jacques Rousseau” is about his life, conjectural moral psychology, political philosophy, language, education, and his legacy. One important point from this website is the Discourse on the Origins of Inequality which states that “If humans are naturally good at this stage of human evolution, their goodness is merely a negative and amounts to the absence of evil.” This website also explains how Rousseau’s social contract questions politics and explains how it is important for a human to have freedom with the authority of the state. This website had excessive amount of details and shouldn’t have written much about his early life. I would recommend this to all high school students due to the length and complexity of the website.
Coca, Nithin. "Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's Basic Political Writings." Yahoo! Contributor
Network. Yahoo! Voices, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2013.
This article titled, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's Basic Political Writings Natural Law Versus Natural Man” by Nithin Coca is about the natural state of man in comparison to the civil society. This article reviews quotes from Rousseau and Locke then puts them into the context of natural laws, society and the natural state of man. The author makes a lot of connections from humanity to civilized society sometimes it seems redundant. I thought that this article was fairly easy to read there were parts where the author was unclear. I would recommend this article to high school students learning about the natural state of man.
"Corruption Perceptions Index 2012." 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency
International, 2012. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.
.
“Corruption Perceptions Index 2012” was a database the ranked the world’s countries’ governments from most transparent to least transparent. It uses color codes to signify level of transparency and then listen the countries rankings at the bottom. I think that this was a very useful source because it gives people visual aid when looking at the world’s transparency. I recommend this to anyone looking for any type of transparency statistics, not just transparency within the government.
Delaney, James J. “Rousseau, Jean-Jacques: Life.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Niagara.edu, 21 Oct. 1995. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. .
“Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712—1778)” by James J. Delaney is about the basic outline of Rousseau’s’ life. It informs us about his early life all they way up to his death while mentioning his works. It also tells us about his personal life and friends. I think that it is a clear and concise source and I recommend it to 7th graders and above for the clear language and interesting facts.
"Ermenonville : History, Map, Views of Park Jean-Jacques Rousseau." Ermenonville :
History, Map, Views of Park Jean-Jacques Rousseau. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec.
2012.
The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Park made by the marquis of Girardin is a park dedicated to Rousseau located in Ermenonville, France. The park was the last resting place of Rousseau and has his tomb there. The source did not provide enough information besides the whereabouts of his resting place and where he spent his last days. I do not think the park has enough decorations or particularly unique designs that somehow reflects Rousseau. I recommend this source to people who have an interest in parks because thats what it is.
Fenn, Peter. "Make Your Case:." Peter Fenn 's Response to ' ' Politico, 23 Apr. 2009.
Web. 04 Feb. 2013. .
Peter Fenn’s response to a question on a website called the Arena was about whether or not the government should reveal information on the its questioning methods to the public. Peter Fenn answers by saying that the government should be transparent and open with the people. I think that this is a good source because readers get to directly hear the opinions of the famous political strategists. But only the first part of Fenn’s response is significantly helpful when it comes to researching transparency. I recommend this source to people who are looking for opinions on transparency because this is exactly what they are looking for. But it may be too complex for young readers due to the wide range of vocabulary
Gay, Peter. "Jean Jacques Rousseau." Age of Enlightenment - Great Ages of Man. 1st ed.
New York: Time Life, 1966. 63-65. Print.
“Age of Enlightenment - Great Ages of Man” by Peter Gay is a short biography that covers Rousseau’s life and inspirations for his famous works such as the Emile, Social Contract and Confessions. This source illustrates Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s life and works by using detailed explanations and facts about what kind of person he was. It describes many of Rousseau’s thought behind several of his writings such as La Nouvelle Heloise. This article uses very descriptive yet unchallenging vocabulary that is suitable for high school students analyzing who Rousseau is.
Gingell, John. Modern Political Thought: A Reader. Ed. Adrian Little and Christopher
Winch. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.
“Modern Political Thought: A Reader” by John Gingell is a collection of important parts of political works written by influence Enlightenment thinkers. Some of these works are Hobbes’ Leviathan, and Rousseau’s The Social Contract. The book provides background information of the thinker and puts them into historical context. I think that this book is overall easy to read besides its occasional difficult vocabulary. I would recommend this book to a high school student who is learning about works of important Enlightenment thinkers.
“Jean Jacques Rousseau.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2011): 1-3.
History Reference Center. Web. 13 Nov.2012
This database, titled “Jean Jacques Rousseau” written by the Columbia University Press, explains Rousseau’s life and works, his thought, and impact on the world today. One of Rousseau’s most important achievements was writing his own social contract, which stated, “We are by nature good, and with the observation that in society we are not good…. But human nature does not go backward, and we never return to the times of innocence and equality, when we have once departed from them." It also explained how Rousseau aimed for freedom and includes general will which is what logical people would choose for the general good. I think that this database was very well written and descriptive, but it could’ve written more about his work than his early life. I would recommend this to early high school students based on the complex information and vocabulary.
"Jean-Jacques Rousseau." Find A Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records and Online
Memorials. N.p., 1 Jan. 2001. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
This specific grave belongs to Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It is located in the Pantheon, which is a famous French Monument. Rousseau’s body is actually beneath the Pantheon, but on top of it is a wooden structure that looks like a replica of a house. Also, his grave is laid next to the grave of Voltaire, who was known to be Rousseau’s enemy. This grave is very different than the ones that I have seen before and is located in a very interesting place. I would recommend this to anyone who is studying about Rousseau or who is fascinated by him.
Kreis, Steven. “Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778.” Jean Jacques Rousseau,
1712-1778. N.p., 4 Aug. 2000. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .
“Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1712 – 1778” by Steven Kreis is a short biography about Rousseau’s life and his achievements in literature and The Social Contract. It also mentions about his influence on modern education. This biography provides few details on Rousseau’s famous works. The author uses complex words and adds too much unnecessary details about Rousseau’s life rather than his works. I would recommend this biography to eleventh and twelfth graders who are looking for information about Rousseau’s noted works.
Maurice, Cranston. "Rousseau, Jean-Jacques." Britannica Biographies (2012): 1. History
Reference Center. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
“Rousseau, Jean-Jacques)” by Maurice Cranston is about Rousseau’s life. It talks about his personal life often and incorporates his works during his life time. It explains his life in great detail and clarity. I think this is a good source because of the amount of information it provides about his personal life and works. I recommend it to 8th graders and above considering the complex language at times.
Obama, Barack. "Transparency and Open Government." The White House. White House,
n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.
.
“Transparency and Open Government” was about what President Obama declared the government should be.
He states that the government should be transparent and how he is going to make it happen. This is an excellent source for transparency because these words are from the President himself and is found on the official White House website. It is a good amount of information on transparency and openness in the government and is written in a clear succinct manner. I recommend this to anyone looking for information on government transparency.
Roberts, Alasdair. "Govt Transparency A Necessity Not A Luxury” Scoop. Scoop, 16
Nov. 2012. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.
.
“Govt Transparency A Necessity Not a Luxury” is about Professor Roberts speech on how transparency is needed in a government. He also mentions the negative outcomes due to a lack of transparency. This is a good source to look for negative results because of the government’s non-existent transparency. It has a lot of strongly opinionated statements and paraphrasing so readers can get to the main point faster although some of the paraphrasing may seem redundant. I recommend this to high school students and beyond due to complex references and vocabulary.
Rousseau, Jean J. Contents for Rousseau 's Emile. 1762. Web. 19 Nov.
2012.
.
“Emilé” Book 1: 1-90 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was about the natural behavior and the corrected behavior of man. He mentions that humans act: greedy, mean, and unfair. Rousseau says this is because of the environment we live in and our will to change nature. He backs up his ideas by selecting books from famous scholars from Greek and Roman times providing short summaries of their writings. I think that his ideas are good but get redundant by mentioning the same ideas but paraphrased. Overall I think that this is an eloquent piece of writing. I suggest it to high school students and above because the complex style of writing and vocabulary.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discours sur l 'origine de l 'inégalité des hommes. 1755. 66 pages
This book, “A Discourse Upon the Origin and Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind” written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1754 is about the kinds of inequality, which are natural or physical and ethical and political. Rousseau also writes about how it is important for people to have their own necessities. This book had extremely difficult vocabulary and most times, I didn’t know what I was reading. I would recommend this to higher high-school students because of the intricate language and ideas used by Rousseau.
"Rousseau Island." Geneve-Tourism. Geneva, Switzerland, 1835. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
.
Rousseau Island is an island located in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1628, the island was once called Boat Island because it was used as a shipyard. Then in 1832, the island was dedicated to the great Enlightenment philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The island turned into a public park and a statue sculpted by James Pradier was added to the park. By the looks of this site I think it’s a romantic place with a special view of the city. I recommend this location to people who are looking for a peaceful, beautiful, yet symbolic place to spend time.
Sheldon, Garrett Ward. Encyclopedia of Political Thought. New York: Facts on File,
2001. Print.
This article from an encyclopedia title, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau” talks about Rousseau’s life as a French political philosopher. It talks about his thoughts on the social contract, individuality, civil society, and general will. It also talks about how these thoughts led to the writings of his books, which were Discourses on the Arts and Sciences and on the Origin of Inequality, The Social Contract, Emile, and Confessions. This was a well-written article and explained a little about his life before, but a lot about his life as a philosopher. I would recommend this article to anyone who has a large interest in Rousseau or anyone who is studying him, due to the complex details.
"Transparency." Transparency. European Commission, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 05 Feb.
2013. .
This website titled, “Transparency” explains the ways that some European governments use transparency. For example, they let their citizens have a right to know how the European institutions are preparing these decisions, who participates in preparing them, who receives funding from the EU budget, and what documents are held or produced to prepare and adopt the legal acts. This was very helpful to me because it showed me that some governments today still use Rousseau’s ideas on transparency. I would recommend this to anyone who is doing a great deal of research on Jean Jacques Rousseau.
Rousseau, Jean J. "THE SOCIAL CONTRACT." Rousseau: Social Contract. N.p., 8 July
2012.Web. 20 Nov. 2012. .
“The Social Contract” is book written in 1762 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It is about man and their contributions to society and how the Social Contract would provide the solution to the many problems in society. This article is very detailed on the effects of the social contract. It uses complex words it is hard to understand what Rousseau it trying to explain to us. Because of the complex examples I would recommend this article to college students learning about the works of Rousseau.
Wilson, Ellen Judy. and Peter Hanns. Reill. Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment. New
York: Facts On File, 1996. Print.
The section on Rousseau from the “Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment” by Ellen Judy Wilson and Peter Hanns Reill is about Rousseau’s personal life as well as his work. It starts off by starting from the very beginning of his life with many details. It tells you a lot about his personal life, opinion, and relationships. The author then goes on to describe that last years of Rousseau and after the mentioning of his death, the author describes Rousseau’s work thoroughly. I think that it is a good source because it tells you a lot about his person life and opinions and his achievements. I recommend it to 7th graders and above because of the concise language and clear details.