Preview

Who Is Rousseau's Arguments Of Law?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
734 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Who Is Rousseau's Arguments Of Law?
To begin the discussion of law, William Blake states that “Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion” (Blake, 6) within The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Blake dives to the criticism or observation of an institution. It may seem odd that he points out “prisons” and “brothels” within the same sentence, yet, although they are quite different on their face they share central features. Both prisons and brothels are institutions, and while in prison one's position is required by law while the brothel patrons being the exact opposite. In regards to prison, on one hand Blake recognizes it’s a product of the legal system, a “law”, in which its stated goal is to restrict peoples freedom as a punishment or protection of sorts. …show more content…
From a far, Rousseau's views on law may seem to differ as it reaches in to the argument of natural law, they are quite similar. Essentially, natural law is a set of laws or doctrines laid down by God or Nature that benefit man's preservation. It is evident that Rousseau believes that the state of nature has in fact blessed man with a sense of complete and enviable total freedom. To continue, the natural man is capable of being free, but only by virtue of not being held back by a power of state which consists of authority such as the army, the police, the judiciary, and the prison system. These are structures of society that force their authority in controlling the relations of production. Although the Discourse is closely related the nature of man, and about different forms of government, and in particular law, it also has a wider significance. The central idea is to uncover the truth behind who humans are, as well as the root of our desires. Rousseau's Discourse puts the natural state of man over all else, even over the state that exists within civil society. Rousseau understands and claims that natural man is incapable of reasoning, especially when concerning moral duties states, “Pity is what, in the state of nature, takes the place of laws, mores, and virtue.”(14) We are all as man self-interested and self-preserving individuals at least that is what Rousseau expresses. In this line, the state of natural pity takes the place of laws, morals, and virtues. The natural sentiment of pity alters the desire for self-preservation, and like Blake highlights the “desire” that is restrained by laws. Ultimately, Rousseau claims the pity takes place the need for laws, and that it’s truly the only thing a natural man needed. Laws that are developed are not balanced due to the fact that pity overpowers all. Rousseau is clear that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment most deeply influenced what emerging class in Europe? P.545…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For the past many years, people have been trying to figure out the relationship between the government and nature of man. The theories of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau about the connection between nature of man and the government have been debated for many years. These three philosophers have remarkably influenced the way our system works today. Although each theory had its flaws and merits, Jean Jacques Rousseau’s theory is superior in comparison to Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rousseau depicts man in his natural state as innocent and good, blaming the invention of property as the root of societal inequalities and lamenting the sacrifice of liberty required of members of a state. Rousseau's early man is deemed non-confrontational, concerned only with 'self-preservation'…

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rousseau explains the philosophical underpinnings of the social contract as well as its suitable form. The suitable form is the ‘sovereign’ which according to Rousseau is the collective description the people who mutually agree to enter into a civil society. The individuals may have different needs and opinions, but the sovereign, as a product of the social contract, expresses the common will and good for the entire…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rousseau concludes that the progression of the sciences and arts are the cause of the corruption of virtue and morality. This discourse won Rousseau fame and recognition, and it laid much of the philosophical groundwork for a second, longer work, The Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Rousseau’s praise of nature is a theme that continues throughout his writing career.…

    • 192 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rousseau developed a definition for the state of nature by using his knowledge of humans and animals, which he gathered from observations and experiences. He did not base his ideas of the state of nature on religious beliefs. Rather, he worked backwards; he used what he knew about contemporary man to guess how man was in the beginning (i.e. in the state of nature). Locke begins to explore the state of nature on the premise that the savage man had natural rights in the state of nature. Both philosophers followed the same train of thought: the state of nature, the development of property, the need for the social contract, the civil society that was created, and the governments that formed in those societies. They differ in that Rousseau believed that people left the state of nature when they discovered the benefits of relying on each other for resources. The idea of property caused labor to become necessary; this created a need for a social contract, which formed civil society. Since civil society formed on communal values, it should come before the individual. The individual does not sustain the social contract, the group of individuals does. In…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Whereas Madison asserts that the State has no say over a person’s relationship with the Creator, Rousseau only rejects certain State religions on technical grounds and eventually concludes that society should demand a significant religious test. It is surprising that given Madison and Rousseau’s uniform goal, a stable society, they should come up with such widely varying methods for achieving it. One may be tempted to suggest that, unlike Rousseau, Madison considers individual rights to be more important than the proper functioning of society. Upon closer examination, however, it becomes clear that Madison and Rousseau's general disagreement on State power stems from a more fundamental dispute over how society works. According to Madison, society exists with a certain power and then instills this power in the government, while Rousseau argues that it is the creation of a government which makes society materialize. These disparate views on the directionality of government and society directly lead to Madison and Rousseau’s other…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article that I read Philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that people must surrender their freedom to a ruler. In the article, french philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau states that people should come together in societies and the solution was to form a social contract with general will or the common good.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    According to Rousseau, there are some good things in civilization but there are negatives that come with it. This correlates to his famed quote “A man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains”. This can be interpreted as people are born free, but they are chained by the societies that they live in. People believe they live above society’s standards but it is society themselves who reminds people that you always seek approval from them and always conform to their beliefs, therefore it makes us a slave to societies standards. Even the people who enforce society’s standards and think they are the perfect example for society also show that they are a bigger slave than to those who are trying to seek the approval of society. Rousseau's main argument is that the main cause for all of human nature's problem is not 'sin' but separation from 'Nature.' He believed that Nature has always been kind to man and only when he separates himself from Nature that he degenerates both physically and morally. This is in direct contrast to Hobbes' views that man is fundamentally…

    • 1774 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ideally, the rule of law envisions a system of governance free from arbitrary actions and where the law is enforced in a fair and efficient manner. In his book, Hatzenbuehler constructs the concept of the rule of law from the analogy of Jean Jacques Rousseau, a Francophone Genevan philosopher, who opined that the rule of law acts as a roadmap for a stable and egalitarian society of virtuous men. In the modern world, the rule of law guarantees all citizens a reasonable level of equality and averts authoritarianism, imperialism, and impunity that may spur mass action. Similarly, for the federal government of the United States to nurture a “Virtuous Citizenry,” it has an indispensable role in putting in place the requisite institutional and legal measures that protect the rule of…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Second Discourse, written by Jean Jaques Rousseau in 1754, discusses the human state of nature. This work compares savaged men and civilized men, mostly in physical terms. Rousseau aimed to find the source of inequality in the human race, by stripping man down to his animalistic nature. He begins by discussing how a natural man uses his instincts for self preservation, like an animal. After this, he mentions how civilized men tend to compare themselves to each other, which in turn destroys their empathy for others. Rousseau supports the fact that men who are in the natural state tend to do better in life than men who are civilized and this is shown through their physical and mental attributes.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rousseau’s work “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” strives to answer a number of questions that current society faces, such as what is the origin of government and what is its purpose. Different from Locke’s and Hobbes’ approach to the origin of government, Rousseau strives to answer this by understanding the role of inequality in the creation of government. In order to further understand this, the following points and themes mentioned in “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” will be introduced. First, Rousseau’s definition of the state of nature and how it differentiates from Locke’s and Hobbes’ view. Second, the introduction of inequality in a society. Third, the furthering of inequality in a society and its relation with the origin…

    • 122 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rousseau begins part two by stating that civil society began when people started claiming ownership of land and claims that humans could have been spared a lot pain if someone had just stopped the first person to claim land as their own. Rousseau then discuss how humans adapted and developed tools and how they could overcome obstacles in nature. He then talks about the early coming together of humans and what drove them to work together. He then discusses family and how the family unit became a little society then Rousseau says that the first differences were established in the ways of life between the sexes as women became more sedentary and men went out to find sustenance. Rousseau then says that as people became more sociable people began…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He states that it is acceptable to put the people in “chains” when the people agree to be put to “chains”. This means that repressing freedom is not always bad as long as the people agree to it and believe that it is for their own benefit. Rousseau believes that humans are born naturally good. He states that naturally, individuals are born with a sense of love for themselves that is real and unbiased.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    No more is Rousseau's _contrat social_, which by means of a contract establishes a relationship and connection between subjects that are by nature independent, at all based on this kind of naturalism. This is an illusion and nothing but the aesthetic illusion of the small and big Robinsonades. It is, on the contrary, the anticipation of "bourgeois society", which began to evolve in the 16th century and in the 18th century made giant strides towards maturity. The individual in this society of free competition seems to be rid of the natural ties etc.…

    • 2232 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays