ROUSSEAU’S Discourse on the origin and foundations of inequality among men (i.e. The Second Discourse)
1. Describe Rousseau’s assessment of the life individuals lead in a developed Society (i.e. a society like Paris) and compare it to Rousseau’s assessment of the solitary life individuals lead in the natural State. Explain how Rousseau’s assessment of both lives offers a Critique of the Enlightenment agenda. Enlightenment thinkers pressed for the development of reason, high art and culture, refined sentiments, and sophisticated morality because they thought these would lead to improvement.
2. Does Rousseau believe the economic and political Inequality he sees in European societies is legitimate? If yes, why? If not, why is economic and political inequality illegitimate? What consequences follow from establishing economic and political inequality?
3. What does Rousseau mean when he says that human beings are perfectible or fungible? What negative consequences does Rousseau attach to humankinds perfectibility in The Second Discourse?
4. Compare the origin of morality in Hobbes and Locke with the Origin of our morality (our sense of how to treat others and how to treat ourselves) in Rousseau.
Rousseau’s Social Contract
1. Rousseau’s is a philosopher who priorities freedom, and his social contract promises to reconcile freedom with authority. What is Rousseau’s conception of freedom? Why is it so important to Rousseau? And how can it be reconciled with authority?
2. What are the terms of Rousseau’s social contract? That is, what do individuals in the state of nature give up and what do they receive in exchange?
3. As best as you can, explain Rousseau’s concept of the gENERAL WILL and articulate the procedure through which the general will becomes manifest.
4. Rousseau’s Free Republic cannot come into being in just any context. Certain geographic, economic, social, cultural and attitudinal conditions foster Rousseau’s free republic. Others do not. Explain what conditions foster the free republic. Be sure to discuss why the conditions help ensure that citizens will show up to participate in legislating and are likely to will the general will.
5. Rousseau is very aware that a free republic is fragile. Many variables lead to its decay and destruction. Decribe the variables that undermine the possibility of living freely in Rousseau’s republic and be sure to explain why they undermine the possibility of freeom.
Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France
1. Burke is not a proponent of radical, root and branch revolution. Nor does he favor political action that aims to change aspects of society quickly. Instead, he favors incrementalism and gradualism. Explain this different approach to enacting change in politics.
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Why does Burke insist that the politically minded should respect precedent, and time-tested political establishments, and why does he urge us to suspect innovators? Burke maintains that we should understand our rights and liberties as prescriptive rights, and not as abstract and natural rights (even though our prescriptive rights may correspond to nature and abstract reason). Why does Burke think it is wise to conceptualize rights as prescriptive rights?
The Enlightenment philosophes aimed to reduce politics to its most important element: reason. Whatever aspects of politics were not related to some abstract rational principle, or to rational self-interest should be banished from political thinking. Burke, in contrast, wants politics to retain notions of chivalry, aristocratic sentimentality and aristocratic taste. Discuss the reasons why Burke defends the latter from Enlightenment scorn.
Wollstonecraft
1. Wollstonecraft aims to replace the existing conception of the ideal woman with a conception that better aligns with Enligthenment and classical republican principles and values. Using the passages below, identify the main attributes of the Wollstonecraft’s ideal woman AND explain what needs to be in place for living women to approximate this ideal.
2. Wollstonecraft is highly critical of society’s conception of the ideal woman. She is also highly critical of women who embody this idealization. Using the passages below, reconstruct what Wollstonecraft maintains is society’s conception of the ideal women. Then, using the same passages, explain what elements within the social environment lead many women to embody this ideal conception. Finally, offer Wollstonecraft’s critique of this conception of women.
3. Defending the Enlightenment Wollstonecraft insists that we ground morality, ethics, virtue, justice, rights and responsibilities on reason. She therefore is highly critical of Burke who grounds them in custom, tradition. Use the following passages to explain Wollstonecraft’s critique of Burke’s foundation and to explain why she supports reason as a foundation.
4. Wollstonecraft is highly critical of the chivalry and gallantry that Burke ascribed to the nobility and seeks to preserve. Explain why Wollstonecraft is critical of chivalry and the feudal institutional of the nobility and what she offers to replace the codes of honor embodied in noble culture and feudal institutions.
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