Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discours sur l'origine et le fondement de l'inégalite parmi les hommes [Discourse on the Origin of Inequality among Mankind]

Kevin Inston (University College London)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.04: French Writing and Culture: Eighteenth-Century and the Enlightenment, 1700-1800.
Vol. editors: Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Jenny Mander (University of Cambridge), Síofra Pierse (University College Dublin), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Domains

Political Philosophy

Dates

First circulation or publication 1755

Places

Switzerland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

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The Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men

(1755), also known as the second Discourse (

Discourse

henceforth), is Rousseau’s first major philosophical work. It analyses man’s transition from an imagined natural state of independence and peace to a state of willing subjugation and oppression. Like the first discourse (

Discourse on the Arts and Sciences

), it was submitted in 1754 to the Dijon Academy’s essay competition whose topic for discussion was “What is the source of inequality among men, and whether it is authorised by natural law”. Unlike the first, the second does not win the competition.

Rousseau modifies the question, omitting any reference to natural law, arguing that social inequality is not naturally justified. Nothing in human nature

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2776 words

Citation: Inston, Kevin . "Discours sur l'origine et le fondement de l'inégalite parmi les hommes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 August 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5584, accessed 24 November 2024.]