Table of Contents
Why the general will is important?
The general will is central to the political philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and an important concept in modern republican thought. In obeying the law, the individual citizen is thus only obeying himself as a member of the political community.
What did Jean-Jacques mean by the general will?
The general will, (French, volonté generale) first enunciated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778), is a concept in political philosophy referring to the desire or interest of a people as a whole. It is most often associated with socialist traditions in politics.
Where does Rousseau define the general will?
Basic ideas. The phrase “general will,” as Rousseau used it, occurs in Article Six of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Déclaration des droits de l’Homme et du citoyen), composed in 1789 during the French Revolution: The law is the expression of the general will.
What was the general will according to Rousseau quizlet?
The will of the sovereign that aims at the common good. Each individual has his own particular will that expresses what is best for him. The general will expresses what is best for the state as a whole.
Where does the idea of the general will come from?
In obeying the law, the individual citizen is thus only obeying himself as a member of the political community. The notion of the general will precedes Rousseau and has its roots in Christian theology.
How did Jean-Jacques Rousseau define the general will?
Rousseau distinguished the general will from the particular and often contradictory wills of individuals and groups. In Du Contrat social (1762; The Social Contract), Rousseau argued that freedom and authority are not contradictory, since legitimate laws are founded on the general will of the citizens.
How is the state subordinate to the general will?
Western philosophy: Social and political philosophy. …rights) become subordinate to the general will. For Rousseau the state is a moral person whose life is the union of its members, whose laws are acts of the general will, and whose end is the liberty and equality of its citizens.
Are there laws that correspond to God’s General will?
These laws correspond to God’s general will, in contradistinction to particular expressions of God’s will: miracles and other occasional acts of divine intervention.