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The Unfinished Question of Human Goodness

The Social Contract

This flow follows the introduction’s account of natural goodness as a background premise linking Rousseau’s educational, ethical, and political arguments.

increasingupBearing stren­gth in each eventdowndecreasing
Nature Supplies a StandardNature Supplies a Standard from "The Social Contract". Nature Supplies a Standard Criticism from Outside Society Rousseau’s early attack measures civilized manners against an ideal of natural simplicity.
Nature Supplies a Standard Criticism from Outside Society Rousseau’s early attack measures civilized manners against an ideal of natural simplicity. Nature gives him a language for condemning artificial status and display. An Unsettled Ideal At this stage, the standard remains broad and rhetorical. Its moral significance will become more defined in his later work.
Self-Love DistinguishedSelf-Love Distinguished from "The Social Contract". Self-Love Distinguished Two Motives The introduction highlights Rousseau’s distinction between natural self-respect and comparative self-love.
Self-Love Distinguished Two Motives The introduction highlights Rousseau’s distinction between natural self-respect and comparative self-love. Self-preservation need not mean seeking advantage at others’ expense. Moral Potential A reasonable concern for oneself can coexist with benevolence and equality. Social comparison, by contrast, encourages rivalry and preference for oneself over others.
Society Can Pervert MotivesSociety Can Pervert Motives from "The Social Contract". Society Can Pervert Motives Comparison Intensifies As social relations develop, people can become preoccupied with status and recognition.
Society Can Pervert Motives Comparison Intensifies As social relations develop, people can become preoccupied with status and recognition. The desire for advantage obscures a more equal relation to others. A Critical Inheritance This account does not require that all social life be evil. It identifies a way institutions and habits can deform human capacities.
Political Law Seeks Common ReasonPolitical Law Seeks Common Reason from "The Social Contract". Political Law Seeks Common Reason Universal Judgment The General Will applies the possibility of rational, universal conduct to political institutions.
Political Law Seeks Common Reason Universal Judgment The General Will applies the possibility of rational, universal conduct to political institutions. Citizens can judge laws from a standpoint beyond immediate private preference. An Ideal and a Test Actual decisions may fall short of this standard. Its importance lies in judging whether public action serves citizens as equals.
Education Guards Human CapacityEducation Guards Human Capacity from "The Social Contract". Education Guards Human Capacity Forming Rather Than Erasing Civic education should direct attachments toward public life, not simply eliminate individual…
Education Guards Human Capacity Forming Rather Than Erasing Civic education should direct attachments toward public life, not simply eliminate individual feeling. Rousseau’s system depends on capacities that can be cultivated or distorted. The Political Horizon The premise of human goodness links education to legitimate institutions: a better social order must make room for people to develop their moral and civic powers.
1750, in the first Discourse’s contrast with civilization
1755, in the Discourse on Inequality
1755, in the account of social development
1762, in the mature account of the General Will
Discourse on Political Economy, in the proposal to form citizens from childhood