Rousseau: Natural Man, Social Contract, and Education
Rousseau’s Concept of Natural Man
Rousseau describes the natural man as inherently good and happy, free from worries, a fixed home, and the need for foreign languages. This being is driven by two fundamental impulses: self-love and compassion. He is innocent, generous, and lives in harmony with nature, a ‘noble savage’ at peace with his surroundings.
However, historical man (modern man) has lost this inherent goodness, becoming hypocritical, selfish, and hateful. To conceal this degeneration, individuals wear masks, adopting an enlightened behavior characterized by superficial courtesies and a concern for appearances. Education, in this context, serves as a mask, obscuring the recognition of degradation and hindering regeneration.
The transition from the noble savage to this degenerate state occurs as economic resources become scarce, creating fear and prompting the creation of weapons for self-defense and survival. This leads to a continuous abandonment of the natural state, giving rise to private ownership, domination, and inequality.
The Social Contract
Rousseau believed that returning to the natural state was impossible, but he advocated for the moral regeneration of man through the social contract. This agreement aims to harmonize the individual and society, legitimizing the social order while preserving freedom.
Through associations, individuals protect themselves and their property while maintaining their freedom. The social contract enables the formation of the general will, which accommodates each member as an integral part of the whole. Justice is based on social principles rather than natural instinct.
By obeying and submitting to laws enacted by the general will, individuals are truly free. While historical man is depraved and selfish, he can recover and restore a civic sense of well-being, happiness, and freedom, even if a return to the natural state is unattainable. This civic state represents the best possible condition within civilization.
The general will has a universal subject, the sovereign people, and its object is the common good. The will of all is simply the sum of individual wills. The general will is expressed by citizens gathered in assembly, advocating for direct democracy rather than representative governance.
Rousseau’s Theory of Education
Traditional education, according to Rousseau, oppresses and stifles the innate freedom and goodness of man. He proposes a new education that fosters the child’s natural development, encouraging self-directed learning through direct interaction with things and nature, free from artificial constraints.
The aim of education should be to cultivate free men by encouraging the development of intuition and feelings. Morality is rooted in natural sentiments such as self-love and love for others, and education should nurture these qualities. This approach aims to create citizens grounded in the inherent goodness of human nature.
Rousseau’s ideas are compiled in his book “Emile,” which presents an idealized model for transforming the educational conditions of children and their future wives (Sophia).