Rousseau and the Paradox of AlienationIn the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Sally Howard Campbell finds the bridge between the now-dominant psycho-social conception of alienation and the legal-political conception that prevailed prior to Rousseau. She discusses Rousseau's transformation of the concept of alienation and how it laid much of the groundwork for Marx's later, more explicit discussions of man's alienation. Using Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality, Campbell shows how Rousseau depicts the development of man's awareness of himself as a conscious and moral being, illustrating man's journey from a natural state of self-sufficiency to one of dependence and alienation. Paradoxically, she describes Rousseau's belief that a state of wholeness can only be achieved through a man's total alienation of himself to the community, free from the alienating effects of civil society. She concludes that, like Marx, Rousseau believed that alienation can only be transcended through the merging of the individual and the community. |
Contents
Alienation Prior to Rousseau | 1 |
The Rousseauian State of Nature | 13 |
The Path to Alienation | 27 |
Man in Civil Society | 43 |
The Paradox of Alienation | 57 |
The Legacy of Rousseaus Innovation | 69 |
Abbreviations | 79 |
81 | |
85 | |
About the Author | 89 |
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Common terms and phrases
According to Rousseau alienating effects Allan Bloom amour de soi becomes bourgeois capable citizen civil society concept of alienation conscious corrupting creates desire divided division of labor E&PM economic Emile emphasis original esteem existence Facebook feel fellows Grotius Grotius’s Hegel Hobbes Hobbes’s Hugo Grotius inalienable rights independence individual inequality instinct interests Jean-Jacques Rousseau John Locke Karl Marx lack law of nature liberty life-activity live Locke Locke’s man’s alienation man’s awareness man’s dependence man’s freedom man’s natural man’s right Marx’s Melzer men’s modern men moral natural freedom natural man’s needs one’s oneself passions physical political possess psychological psychosocial reason recognize reflection renounce Rous Rousseau and Marx Rousseau believes Rousseau calls Rousseau considers Rousseau describes Rousseau writes Rousseau’s social contract savage sciences and arts seau Second Discourse Second Treatise self-consciousness self-preservation self-sufficient sentiment slave slavery soci t]he things tion total alienation transformation true unified unity unnatural whole