Rousseaus inequality
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
In Discourse on the Origin Of Inequality, Jean-Jacques Rousseau tells one that modern society and inequality are negative aspects of today's mankind and the reason for this is the man who himself is the creator of these two bad points. According to Rousseau, there are two types of inequality: natural and moral. Natural or physical inequality comes from "difference of age, health,bodily strength, and qualities of mind or soul." Physical inequality includes intelligence and therefore a capacity for reason. Rousseau says moral inequality, also called political inequality, is "established by the consent of men." He tells one that the reason behind the difference in a person's status( being rich or poor) or for why one is more powerful than another is because of this physical and political inequality. Rousseau says his enquiry will not include the historical truths or facts because they are derived from society, but "only for hypothetical and conditional reasonings"(17). Rousseau writes, "You will seek the age at which you would want your species to have stopped" (18). This statement clearly shows one of his main points: that modern society and inequality are bad things.
In part one, Rousseau distinguishes man from animal...