Introduction
The assignment will be investigating the democracy of Aristotle and Jean Jacques Rousseau. Democracy in itself can be very different and varies from form to form. The assignment will investigate Aristotle’s view and Jean Jacques Rousseau concepts on state and man, the governess of the state, freedom and man .Each of these topics will be contrast on the views of Aristotle and Jean Jacques Rousseau alongside each other. Each of these philosophers’ key points will be looked and the inner working of out they thought a city should be run.
State and Man
Aristotle in his book Politics explains that “every state is community of some kind and every community is established with a view to some good.” ( Aritso 1127). Aristotle idea of state
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The land size of the state should be large enough to accommodate the needs of the people. The state class system is made up of farmers and artisans. The farmers and artisans are necessary for production of good and services in the state. These works not enjoy citizen rights (copslt 356). These workers are the back bone of this type of society and make the sacrifices in order to help the society to achieve the great good. The workers find their happiness in working together and are filled …show more content…
The citizens that enter into this contract all become equal and agrees to share and follow General Will. A person does not lose their freedom but exists freely in the society (13 note ). A person joins this social group and enters into the social contract freely. In entering the social contract a person gives up the freedom in order to get freedom in the society. To agree to the social contracts rules means that you be come apart of the way that this society thinks and what to servicer the society.
In this type of society the social contract is there to protect the weak from oppression and to keep please ,also to ensure that everyone possession are kept secure. The people living in this society all become equal upon entering because they are all nothing in the society (Note 13). In entering the society the person is something but then becomes nothings. By becoming nothings is what everyone equal and in everyone become equal is what ensures freedom. For there to be total freedom there needs to be equality among all the people of the society.
Democracy as Political System
The state achieves this by implementing laws which promote justice and virtue, by educating its people so that they may make better and more informed choices toward happiness, and by overall promoting the interests of the whole rather than that of any one individual. However, the just state may be impossible according to Plato and Aristotle, but this is not to say that we should give up entirely. Rather, we should make note of the just city and continuously aspire to that ultimate state of happiness, for the city that aspires toward justice, although imperfect, is the best possible condition we are capable of
Social Contract is known as the basic concept that the people of a society are supposed to be subject to laws/rules, whether they’re right or wrong. The US Civil Rights Movement is a good example of justifying breaking the social contract. The US Civil Rights Movement was a time between 1954 to 1968 that involved a series of events that would later end up to colored people being freed from segregation laws along with gaining equality in society, even though this led to a time that made discrimination rise significantly. Breaking the social contract was justified in this occasion because of how much colored people were going through, therefore they had to break laws regarding segregation in order to gain justice.
For Rousseau and Hobbes, the social contract is something inevitable and essential to social order. Despite both having contrasting views regarding how free people are under the social contract, both suggest it might be necessary to ensure that the harmony is not endangered (Rousseau 9). But Rousseau and Hobbes are not the only ones to offer an opinion on this matter: Ralph Waldo Emerson, the first American philosopher, also addresses the relationship between the individual and the whole in Self-reliance. Rousseau and Emerson both believe that men are more free in their natural state (Emerson 11), but their views on the social contract, while similar in foundation, differ in specifics. While both deem the social contract harmful to individual
Book One of The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau focuses on the reasons that people give up their natural liberty in order to achieve protection from threats to themselves and their property. This results in the formation of a legitimate sovereign where all members are equal. Rousseau believes that no human has authority over another individual because force cannot be established. He argues that no individual will give up his or her freedom without receiving something in return. I will focus my analysis on how the social contract states that we must give up our individual rights in order to obtain equality and security.
Jean-Jacque Rousseau - Comparisons with the above two philosophers and opinions on the State and Law. Jean Jacques Rousseau is the third philosopher I wish to discuss. He was a French-Geneva philosopher who is widely believed to have influenced the enlightenment in France and Europe. During the French revolution Rousseau was one of the most respected and popular political theorists. Rousseau believed that men in the state of nature were the most natural and free they could be before they were corrupted by the unnatural grips of civilization.
The inequality amongst men can be overcome by establishing a social contract that requires individuals to transfer all of his or her own rights to the whole
Aristotle thought the best form of government was a polity or constitutional government; however, a polity was non-existent in Aristotle’s time. Correspondingly, Locke
After these contracts are established, however, then society becomes possible, and people can be expected to keep their promises, cooperate with one another, and so on. I believe that thanks to the social contract we created justice and established what is moral and immoral for the whole society and not only on what we think could be moral or immoral. This topic may be controversial for some people because they will probably think that even though the social contract was created to be equal for all people there are some things until today that does not apply for all. But for me that is not a strong reason to do not believe in the Social contract I strongly believe in this theory because this is what makes a civil society with justice and morality. A philosopher Stuart Rachels suggests that, “ morality is the set of rules governing behavior that rational people accept, on the condition that others accept them too”.
Essay 1 Aristotle and John Locke both believe humans were not created to live alone but instead among other people of the same community. Humans are not independent beings, and those who live in isolation lack the purpose of life: becoming a citizen and exercising one 's full potential of human flourishing. According to Aristotle, the collective community or multitude of citizens coexisting with one another is happiness, whereas Locke believes that the collective community is protecting autonomy and property. Both philosophers believe that to become a citizen, one must contribute to politics with the intent of creating a better society for all. Aristotle and Locke however, have differing views on how a person accomplishes this.
Both John Locke (1632-1734) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) were early modern social theorists who promote reason and freedom as an important component in political community. They shared a lot of thoughts on early childhood education. Both of them believe that children love freedom and power, and that is the most important way to raise children. However, they took different directions on their views. What are the similarities and differences between their thoughts or views on early childhood education (0-8 years of age)?
This paper examines both Jean-Jacques Rousseau and James Madison remark concerning ‘ factions ’ as the potential destructive social force to the society. To layout and examine, this paper will first outline and discuss on Rousseau’s understanding of factions in The Social Contract,and Madison’s discussion on factionalism in the Federalist Papers 10.But there are many component surrounded with their view’s on ‘factions’,so it is important to consider together. Firstly,I will consider the definition and the element surrounded with their view on factions. With regard to Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract,he believes that the society can only function to the extent that people have interest in common.
Everyone has a perspective of their own about the government whether it be good or bad. Ancient Greek philosopher Plato and English philosopher John Locke both discuss the topic of government in their literatures. In the Republic by Plato, Plato introduces this concept of a just city. In this city, he believes that the older and wisest person(s) should rule as they are very knowledgeable. Everyone is born innately different according to Plato.
This state of nature was the conditions in which we lived before there were any political governments to rule over us and it described what societies would be like if we had no government at all. In this essay I will compare the opinions given by each philosopher regarding their understanding of the state and the law. I will also discuss how their theories have influenced our understanding of the law today. Thomas Hobbes – Regarding the State and Law Firstly I would like to begin my discussion with Thomas Hobbes.
If Plato had portrayed an Ideal State in hid republic which could be built in heaven only, Aristotle came down to earth while drawing the outline of his ideal state. Like a true scientist he does not attempt any impossible scheme in formulating his theory if Ideal State. His ideal state is attainable on his earth. We must first consider not only what is ideal but also what is the best attainable in actual practice. The only difference between a monarchy and an aristocracy is that in the first case virtue is centered in one person.
Debate surrounding the question of citizenship, and the ensuing ideals about what makes a good life, has existed for as long as citizenship itself – providing many contrasting views and interpretations about the peak of human flourishing. Aristotle himself recognizes this fact, stating that “…there is often dispute about the citizen…since not everyone agrees that the same person is a citizen” (Politics 65). This is indicative, then, of the fact that there will be many different interpretations of human existence and its purpose; due to the fact that there is not even agreement on citizenry and what the ideas of it reflect for human life. The juxtaposition of two such views, those of Aristotle and Locke, allow thinkers to evaluate not only two