Table of Contents
What did Jacques Rousseau believe in?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau strongly believed in the innate goodness of man and in basic human rights founded upon universal natural law; in addition, he believed that both rulers and the citizens have natural human rights as well as obligations to each other which should be bound in a social contract.
Who was Rousseau and what did he believe?
| Jean-Jacques Rousseau | |
|---|---|
| School | Social contract Romanticism |
| Main interests | Political philosophy, music, education, literature, autobiography |
| Notable ideas | General will, amour de soi, amour-propre, moral simplicity of humanity, child-centered learning, civil religion, popular sovereignty, positive liberty, public opinion |
What did Rousseau believe about The Social Contract?
Rousseau’s central argument in The Social Contract is that government attains its right to exist and to govern by “the consent of the governed.” Today this may not seem too extreme an idea, but it was a radical position when The Social Contract was published.
What did Rousseau do?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) was a French philosopher and writer of the Age of Enlightenment. His Political Philosophy, particularly his formulation of social contract theory (or Contractarianism), strongly influenced the French Revolution and the development of Liberal, Conservative and Socialist theory.
How did Rousseau differ from?
Rousseau argued against inequality among the classes, while Voltaire argued for freedom of speech and religion. Rousseau argued for freedom of speech and religion, while Voltaire argued against inequality among the classes.
How did Rousseau affect the Enlightenment?
Rousseau was the least academic of modern philosophers and in many ways was the most influential. His thought marked the end of the European Enlightenment (the “Age of Reason”). He propelled political and ethical thinking into new channels. His reforms revolutionized taste, first in music, then in the other arts.
What did Rousseau believed would work for the common good?
He believed that living for the common good produced peace, equality, and liberty. The good of community as a whole, he said, should be placed above individual interests. This basically means that a community is more important that one’s self. In his work his hatred for his current government and his admiration to philosophers is clear.
What did Rousseau believed corrupted good people?
The belief that man, by nature, is good was espoused by the French philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). He believed that people in the state of nature were innocent and at their best and that they were corrupted by the unnaturalness of civilization.
What did Rousseau think was the best government?
Rousseau is somewhat elusive and contradictory in spelling out what such a government should look like, but in general he thought a direct democracy, operating at the local (city, or canton) level was the best form of government. The crucial thing for Rousseau was that government ought to express what he called the “general will” of the people.
What was Rousseau main idea?
Rousseau’s idea of the Social Contract was modeled from the political system of the ancient Greek polis. During the Enlightenment, Rousseau argued that the people controlling the state oppressed the bulk of the population, thus a reform in the political system had to occur.