LA FILOSOFÍA DE ROUSSEAU 1/2 — Transcript

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1. 0:35Rousseau views civilization as
2. 0:37following a degenerative model. Human
3. 0:41history evolves from an idyllic state
4. 0:43of nature to the corrupt civilization
5. 0:45of the old regime. However, for
6. 0:50Rousseau, the state of nature is not
7. 0:52historical; it is rather an artifice, a
8. 0:55mental construct, or a working
9. 0:57hypothesis. It involves imagining what
10. 1:03human life would be like outside of any
11. 1:05organized society or notion of the
12. 1:07state. According to Rousseau, man in
13. 1:14the state of nature is naturally
14. 1:16innocent, solitary, free, and
15. 1:18independent. Mating occurs through
16. 1:22casual encounters, and the mother-child
17. 1:24relationship lasts until the child can
18. 1:26fend for itself. Men live in the
19. 1:32present with no notion of the future.
20. 1:35Their main concern is self-preservation
21. 1:38and survival. They are egocentric, but
22. 1:44their egocentrism is balanced by their
23. 1:46natural compassion. They spontaneously
24. 1:50feel pity when facing the hardships of
25. 1:52other human beings. In the state of
26. 2:01nature, men's desires coincide with
27. 2:03their natural needs and, therefore, are
28. 2:05limited, simple, and easily satisfied.
29. 2:12It is true that physical inequalities
30. 2:14exist, such as age or strength, but
31. 2:16given the simplicity of needs,
32. 2:18individual independence, and the
33. 2:20abundance of goods, such inequalities
34. 2:22are not subjects of competition, nor
35. 2:24are they, therefore, determining
36. 2:26factors for survival. However, with the
37. 2:32multiplication of the species, goods
38. 2:33begin to grow scarce, and individuals
39. 2:36are forced to cooperate with one
40. 2:37another. Thus, a primitive society
41. 2:43emerges where coexistence gives rise to
42. 2:45language and the comparison of
43. 2:47individuals with one another. Later,
44. 2:53metallurgy and agriculture appear, and
45. 2:55with them, the accumulation of power
46. 2:57and wealth, and consequently, private
47. 2:59property. Nevertheless, private
48. 3:03property makes inequality possible, as
49. 3:05some soon have more than others. Those
50. 3:10who have much want more, and those who
51. 3:12have less covet the property of those
52. 3:15who have more. In this way, individuals
53. 3:19move from healthy self-love to
54. 3:21selfishness, and from natural
55. 3:23compassion for others to hatred and
56. 3:25envy. Violent conflict then arises
57. 3:30among men. However, the situation of
58. 3:36violence and insecurity is
59. 3:38unsustainable. Through a pact or
60. 3:41contract, individuals renounce their
61. 3:43natural rights in favor of the State.
62. 3:46In exchange, the State commits to
63. 3:48guaranteeing social peace; that is, it
64. 3:51commits to maintaining the existing
65. 3:53social order while eliminating
66. 3:55conflicts. However, Rousseau considers
67. 4:01this order to be absolutely unjust, as
68. 4:04it is sustained by inequality.
69. 4:08Inequality, which is a consequence of
70. 4:10private property, is now legitimized by
71. 4:13law and guaranteed by political power
72. 4:15through the use of force. Rousseau
73. 4:21asserts, in opposition to other
74. 4:23Enlightenment philosophers, that
75. 4:25scientific and technical progress has
76. 4:26not brought about moral progress. That
77. 4:29is, it has not made us better people or
78. 4:31happier; rather, it has brought about
79. 4:33the corruption of the individual. This
80. 4:38is because at the origin of the
81. 4:40sciences and the arts lie greed, pride,
82. 4:42and the desire to dominate. So it is
83. 4:48that vices are the true engines of the
84. 4:50sciences. Ambition and lying generated
85. 4:54the orator's eloquence. The merchant's
86. 4:59greed produced arithmetic, superstition
87. 5:04produced astronomy. The result is an
88. 5:08artificial and hypocritical society,
89. 5:10full of absurd conventions and
90. 5:12inequalities. At this point, the
91. 5:17realization of a just society cannot
92. 5:19lie in a return to the state of nature,
93. 5:22something entirely impossible, among
94. 5:24other reasons, because it has never
95. 5:26existed historically, but rather in a
96. 5:29new education and the configuration of
97. 5:31a new society. This is the core of the
98. 5:36Rousseauian program. On the pedagogical
99. 5:40side, a healthy return to nature
100. 5:42capable of recovering individual
101. 5:44autonomy, and on the political side, a
102. 5:46new social contract.