Rousseau The Social Contract free essay sample

Philosophers ideas on natural law, founding of society, requirements of contract, self-preservation, rights, the sovereign and general will. Following the lead of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau returns to the idea of the social contract in his treatise of the same name. As with Hobbes and Locke, Rousseau begins with a consideration of man in a state of nature. He finds that all men are born free but that all around can be seen men in chains, and he asks how this can have come about and how this change can be seen as legitimate. The right that Rousseau holds in highest regard is the social order, and he says that this is a right that does not come from nature but that is rather founded on conventions. Identifying these conventions is the issue, and one of the important forces expressed by Rousseau as being the motivator for the development of these conventions and for the agreement resulting in a social order is the general will. We will write a custom essay sample on Rousseau The Social Contract or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Rousseau was less interested in individual freedom and..