A Discourse Upon The Origin And The Foundation Of The Inequality Among Mankind

by Jean Jacques Rousseau

Overview

Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men also commonly known as the "Second Discourse", is a 1755 work by philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Rousseau first exposes in this work his conception of a human state of nature, broadly believed to be a hypothetical thought exercise and of human perfectibility, an early idea of progress. He then explains the way in which, in his view, people may have established civil society, and this leads him to conclude that private property is the original source and basis of all inequality.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940162173076
Publisher:	Whispering Pines Press
Publication date:	07/31/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	268 KB

About the Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th century, mainly active in France. His political philosophy influenced the Enlightenment across Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the overall development of modern political and educational thought. Rousseau's novel Emile, or On Education is a treatise on the education of the whole person for citizenship. His sentimental novel Julie, or the New Heloise was of importance to the development of pre-romanticism and romanticism in fiction. Rousseau's autobiographical writings—his Confessions, which initiated the modern autobiography, and his Reveries of a Solitary Walker—exemplified the late 18th-century movement known as the Age of Sensibility, and featured an increased focus on subjectivity and introspection that later characterized modern writing. His Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract are cornerstones in modern political and social thought.