The Freedom of Men in Jean-Jacques Rousseaus Work Essay

Out of the many philosophers of his time, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideas were the most enlightened. His ideas were extremely controversial and he has influenced political and social change for over two hundred years. His ideas were enlightened by thinking ahead of the people of his time by talking about general will, liberty and the corruption of society, and how freedom was essential to being human. We find the Rousseau argued about the freedoms of men quite a bit in his work The Social Contract. He argued that the power of the government should be reconsidered and rethought because any government which does not care about the fundamental rights and equality of any citizen has broken the social contract that is the very heart of†¦show more content†¦Rousseau wanted to figure out a way to preserve order in society but at the same time increase individual liberty but we give credit to Rousseau on being the first Enlightenment thinker to articulate the importance of the basis of rights. Rousseau describes the relationship between man and society in his work The Social Contract where he has an enlightened idea that the state of nature is extremely cruel when it is without law or morality but even amidst all that, there are good men that are in that society’s presence. He claims that when it comes to nature, man always feels the need to compete with other neighbors and fellow men. That in turn causes the joining of fellow men to create something we call a â€Å"society†. In turn, it has set the wheels of the Five Pillars of Western Thought moving in Rousseau’s mind giving his generation something to think about over the next centuries. The five pillars Rousseau so strongly supported were Democracy, Capitalism, Equality, Individualism and Freedom of Religion (Chorlton, â€Å"The Enlightenment† October 1, 2009). These he thought were key essential points in maintaining that well balanced society where equality and liberty rules all and this i dea was very unheard of considering many still believed that the king ruled all and could even take a life as if playing God’s Hand. These statements of his are why the generation of todayShow MoreRelatedJean Jacques Rousseau And Mary Wollstonecraft1201 Words   |  5 Pageseducation. Many of these ideas stem from the revolutionary work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft. This essay will discuss the main ideas from their work and also how it is reflected in other work during the Age of Enlightenment for educationalists such as Johann Pestalozzi and Robert Owen. The final aspect of this essay will discuss how these ideas are reflected in early New Zealand education and the system. 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