ipl-logo

Rousseau: Morally Goodly Bad Or Are We Doing Wrong?

1439 Words6 Pages

For millennia, what has been a dilemma to philosophy has also relentlessly threatened Christian theology and affects the daily lives of human beings. People are regularly faced with questions of morality that may resonate with the strict guidelines of laws or religious doctrine. A majority of individuals align with their respective traditional societal norms. Others, however, may commit acts that are not in accordance with the rest of society. Contingent upon the severity of the deed, it may be considered immoral, sinful, or outright evil. This raises questions such as: what drives humans to do wrong? Are they innately bad, or is it learned? If they are naturally good, what was their undoing?
Countless theodicies have been established in attempt to explain these moral turmoils and to reveal the underlying truths …show more content…

He is often compared in contrast to that of Thomas Hobbes, who wrote that life in the state of nature is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” and argued that humans are intrinsically selfish, inevitably competing for food, land, and all other resources . On the contrary, Rousseau was far more idealistic in his thinking, arguing that life in the state of nature was composed of a basic, almost animal-like happiness. It was peaceful, simple and all of mankind had natural freedom. He strongly believed in the essential goodness of human nature. What Rousseau referred to as “pitié”, translated to pity in English, is what he believed to be the most natural and fundamental virtue of the state of nature. It would be unnatural for humanity to not act in accordance with their innate empathy, or to experience schadenfreude—the pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune. Rousseau contended that when man listens to his natural inclination to act with compassion without the influence of society, only then does he discover where empathetic action and goodness

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Evil In Good Country People, And The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    1146 Words  | 5 Pages

    In life, the evil does not always reveal itself in a grand way. Some evil stays in the thoughts and words of humans, and some evil is not discovered. A person behaves according to their own morals, which is decided by the world’s traditions and ethics.

    Read More

  • Machiavelli And Rousseau's Analysis

    401 Words  | 2 Pages

    When comparing Machiavelli and Rousseau’s presentation on human nature, one can see that Machiavelli’s idea of human nature was completely opposite compared to Rousseau’s idea of human nature. Machiavelli was a realist, and had a rather negative view on human nature. He assumed that men by nature are evil, and are driven by their own selfish wants and needs. In a society where they are free, everything becomes unorganized and confusing. In Machiavelli’s, The Prince, he states that, “Men never do good except out of necessity, but when they have the freedom to choose and can do as they please, everything becomes confused and disorderly (182).”

    Read More

  • Summary Of A Summer Life By Gary Soto

    918 Words  | 4 Pages

    Almost all humans struggle sometime in their life when they must make a choice between right and wrong. Consequently, humans often sin as a result of a poor choice. However, some people view sinful deeds as relatively harmless while others experience feelings of agonizing guilt and pain. In his autobiographical narrative A Summer Life, Gary Soto contrasts the virtuous behavior inspired by his church, neighbors, and society with the voracious greed of a six-year-old boy taunted with boredom.

    Read More

  • Explain Quinn's Response To Euthyphro Objection

    1268 Words  | 6 Pages

    In this paper I am going to explain what Divine Command Theory is. Then I will explain an objection to it called the Euthyphro Objection. Lastly I will explain Quinn’s response to the Euthyphro Objection and raise an objection to his treatment of the objection. Before I explain Divine Command Theory first I want to explain morality according to Quinn. Quinn states that morality is based on three concepts: rightness, wrongness, and obligation (515).

    Read More

  • Rousseau's Legislator

    287 Words  | 2 Pages

    The argument of the legislator as presented by Rousseau is sometimes said to be on of Rousseau’s weakest points in his work on the social contract. He even starts off chapter seven speaking of the legislators divine origins and how this can only be perfected by Gods (pg. 68). In fact, Rousseau actually even acknowledges this peculiarity himself concerning the challenge of the legislator: “Thus in the task of legislation we find together two things which seem to be incompatible: an enterprise too difficult for human powers, and, for its execution, an authority that is no authority.”(pg. 69). Upon face value, it can be difficult to discern exactly what role the legislator plays in the Social Contract as explained by Rousseau; however, when we

    Read More

  • Cultural Differences Between Good And Evil

    1242 Words  | 5 Pages

    Another Milestone that effects the way we define the notion of “Good and Evil” is largely based on our religion. Therefore, the way we see right from wrong, heaven and hell, light and darkness, Good vs. Evil and God and the Devil comes from the moral criterion that we attempt to apply to our worldviews. However, given the conspicuous contrasts amongst religions, ranging from Christianity to Islam to Judaism. Many people believe that due to the simple fact of religious diversity, this provides the basis to discredit any assumption of moral truths. Some religions define evil as “the result of human sin” or that “Evil is the result of a spiritual being who opposes the Lord God”

    Read More

  • Jean Jacques Rousseau's Arguments Against Compassion

    1289 Words  | 6 Pages

    As Rousseau would argue that compassion results in reduced suffering and creates moral attachments between race, cultures, and classes (Ivanovic). For example, the practice of compassion for Rousseau helps tear down the disunion between the diverse influences of social status, environment, and convention. Conventional differences such as strong, weak, rich, poor, Christian, Muslim, etc.. (“Compassion and its Discontents”). Not only can compassion be a moral practice for an individual but rather a political outline. Rousseau believes compassion supports individuals along with institutions in the recognition of shared assumptions about what a human being’s life entails (“Compassion and its Discontents”).

    Read More

  • The Confessions Of Jean-Jacques Rousseau Analysis

    1355 Words  | 6 Pages

    The autobiography, The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, provides a vivid insight into the complicated, yet exhilarating, life of Rousseau. The beginning of his life was filled with misfortunes, such as the death of his mother which was quickly followed by a distraught and self-sabotaging attitude which his father adopted. This led to his father’s involvement in illegal behaviors and the subsequent abandonment of Rousseau. His mother’s death was the catalyst for his journey to meet multiple women who would later affect his life greatly. The Influence of Miss Lamberciers, Madame Basile, Countess de Vercellis, and Madam de Warens on the impressionable adolescent mind of Rousseau led to the positive cultivation of self-discovery and the creation of new experiences, as well as the development of inappropriate sexual desires and attachments towards women.

    Read More

  • Opposing Views On Confessions By Jean-Jacques Rousseau

    1384 Words  | 6 Pages

    After reading confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, it’s evident that being a man with an education is important. During Rousseau’s life, he was famous because of everything that he had done such as writing his confessions. Although, he was not the most Fortinet person with being able to live with both of his parents he still was able to be successful. During the 1700’s men had more freedom than women did, which gave them an upper hand to be successful. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born on June 28,1712 in Geneva.

    Read More

  • Evilness Of Human Nature

    1056 Words  | 5 Pages

    Studies have shown that people tend to act more decorously when they are under the impression of being observed. This insinuates that human nature is more bad and devious than good in general. Over the decades, various philosophers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes have argued over the nature of humanity. Even though this question remains unanswered, there is paramount evidence throughout history to surmise that human beings are inherently malicious and immoral. The purpose of this essay is to analyze and substantiate the evilness of human nature.

    Read More

  • God's Evil Argument Analysis

    1998 Words  | 8 Pages

    Why would such a loving God permit such evil? : This is the question that has been haunting philosophers and theologians for centuries. It seemingly does not make sense for an all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful God to permit the evils that exist in this world. While many arguments are insufficient in explaining God’s permittance of evil, certain beliefs from those arguments may be combined to create a clearer explanation for this seemingly illogical notion. Cleaerly, God must have created evil for a specific purpose.

    Read More

  • Locke Vs Rousseau Analysis

    1092 Words  | 5 Pages

    Students and scholars alike are often deceived by the association between Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau as founders of the social contract. Grouping these authors together often causes people to forget the essential variations presented by each man. The issue of liberty, for example, takes on an entirely different meaning when viewed from the eyes of either Locke or Rousseau. In understanding John Locke 's opinions on liberty in The Second Treatise of Government, it is important to begin with his definition of the idea.

    Read More

  • Pope John Paul's Fides Encyclical Letter

    1059 Words  | 5 Pages

    This past semester in Philosophy 152: The Moral Choice, we discussed several situations that questioned the morality of our everyday society. The course was centered around the teachings of famous philosophers such as Aristotle, St. Augustine and, most importantly, Supreme Pontiff John Paul II. John Paul’s encyclical letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church highlight the relationship between faith and reason. This letter is called Fides Et Ratio and has had a major effect on the current teachings of the church and subsequent philosophers.

    Read More

  • Hasidic Monism Analysis

    1161 Words  | 5 Pages

    In route to this achievement, people must “spend a good deal of time disciplining themselves in the hope of avoiding sin, and they practice a vigorous ritual life designed to help them in their efforts and to address the effects on individuals of the sins they do commit” (Robbins, 2013: 110). Robbins emphasizes on the “individual” aspect of these aspirations and religious activities and points out how this value conflicts with the previous element of social bond and importance of relationships within the community. This indeed creates a conflicted situation of value pluralism, which encompasses duality and opposition. Here he concludes a pluralistic perspective, similar to the earlier illustrated “Equality and Liberty” example, which is that when we put more worth on realization of a value; there is an instantaneous neglect of the other, therefore leading to lesser realization of value. (Robbins, 2013,

    Read More

  • Human Criticism: Determinism, And Existentialism

    1190 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout history, philosophers have been questioning about the human nature. Are humans originally good? Are we originally bad? Are humans born in a blank state, tabula rasa as John Lock referred to it? Many theories have been produced that try to explain the human behavior.

    Read More

More about Rousseau: Morally Goodly Bad Or Are We Doing Wrong?

Open Document