Plato and Rousseau Freedom
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Both Plato in The Republic and Rousseau in The Social Contract present ideas on freedom and knowledge that are related to their concept of the relationship between the individual and the state. In The Social Contract, Jean Jacques Rousseau basically presents his argument that we, as individuals who agree to form a society, are citizens and subjects, both ruling and being ruled simultaneously. When it comes to individual freedom, then, we are presented with a paradox. If we agree to give up our state of complete freedom in uncivilized nature and posit absolute power in the state over all its members in order to join civilized society, are we not merely slaves to the state with little freedom if any? Rousseau tried to resolve this paradox by arguing that individuals gain much more by being members of society than they ever could individually in the isolated chaos of nature. Rousseau argues that rights like liberty, equality, and property are not individual rights at all. They are only civil rights, that is, ones bestowed upon us by our membership in the community. However, even as Rousseau makes this argument, we see that his explanation of it is sometimes contradictory:The social contract gives the body politic absolute power over all its members. Each man alienates, I admit by the social compact, only such part of his powers, goods and liberty as is important for the community to control; but it must also be granted that the
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, the thing most fitted for the overall good of the state-this enables the most numbers of people to be happy and free, but they must have the knowledge of knowing their place in society. However, Plato knows absolute power has a tendency to corrupt absolutely. Therefore, he puts certain guidelines forth for philosophers who would be king or guardians of the state, i.e., those who attain the highest knowledge and therefore the highest freedom of all members of society:
The guardians must choose poverty with any possessions they own being held by all.
The children of guardians will have common families and be raised (trained to know the good) in common, not aware of who their real parents are. They will be bred to produce the best possible guardians.
Women, having the same soul, virtues, interests and personalities as men, have the ability to be guardians.
If any person being bred as a guardian is ruled by desire, they will be relegated to the position of commoner.
The commoners are individuals who act from desire, acquisitive souls involved in material pursuits and the control and manipulation of material goods. However, Plato’s philosophy of breeding the ideal guardians or philosophers is flawed to the degree that this
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1928
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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