topic: seedling, notes on papers, personal philosophy

This is a short summary of my thoughts and notes on A Discourse Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind. This is part of my ongoing efforts towards improving myself and learning both about philosophy and society. This specific reading was part of the course the modern and the postmodern from coursera.

Introduction

In his introduction, Rousseau establishes two different types of inequality, physical inequality (natural or established by nature), and moral or political inequality:

[T]he other which may be termed moral, or political inequality, because it depends on a kind of convention, and is established, or at least authorized, by the common consent of mankind. This species of inequality consists in the different privileges, which some men enjoy, to the prejudice of others, such as that of being richer, more honoured, more powerful, and even that of exacting obedience from them.

I believe it is this second inequality which is much more interesting

He then begins his foray into describing

The first discourse

Natural Man

Jean-Jacques Rousseau begins his discourse about the nature of inequality by describing the natural “savage” man. As I understand it, this is in order to compare modern, “civilizes” man to man in the natural state, and through this comparison be able to show how the arts and sciences have taken us further from morality.

The physical attributes of Savage Men

Rousseau begins by describing the physical attributes of savage men. Among these are:

• More strength
  • Though less powerful overall compared to modern men with tools, more powerful by themselves.
• Better immunity
  • Although Rousseau makes understadably questionable claims about the effectivenes of modern medicine, he asserts than sickness is an effect of civilization, quite apropos to the current covid 19 pandemic.
• Simple Needs
  • Want to sleep? Find a tree
  • Want to eat? Find an apple
  • Want to drink? Find a river

In short,

In proportion as he becomes sociable and a slave to others, he becomes weak, fearful, mean-spirited, and his soft and effeminate way of living at once completes the enervation of his strength and of his courage.

Woof.