How Rousseau s State Of Nature Differs From The One...

While Hobbes and Rousseau were both part of the modernist approach to political science theory and rose to intellectual prominence during the Enlightenment period in Europe, in the 16th century, they nonetheless shared distinct views as far as mankind was concerned. In his Leviathan, the English thinker saw mankind from a physiological standpoint and was a staunch champion of the role of nature in the formation of man. On the other hand, the Genevan pundit was against the Hobbesian rationale and argued in his Discourse on Inequality, that the English savant did not establish the framework of the â€Å"natural man† idea but of the â€Å"man in society† concept. This essay will try to enunciate the basis of Rousseau s analysis, put forth the Swiss scholar s response to the Hobbesian perspective on this issue and illustrate how Rousseau s state of nature differs from the one established by Hobbes. In the Leviathan, Hobbes established the notion of man within two distinct scopes: natural man and artificial man. The former represented the Hobbesian explanation of mankind, as seen from a biological standpoint, whereas the latter was the thinker s rationale, as far as states and governments were concerned. For the sake of this analysis, we will focus on the 13th chapter of the book, titled Of the natural condition of mankind, as concerning their felicity and misery, in which the English thinker examines mankind within a natural environment, in a way that could possibly be seen as aShow MoreRelatedThe State Of Nature Is An Important And Relevant Philosophical Idea1238 Words   |  5 PagesHarkema Prof. Wolfe 10/1/14 Intro: The state of nature is an important and relevant philosophical idea that has been discussed and debated for a long time. The reason it is such a key topic in philosophy is it delves into the reasoning behind why man had to create political society. 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