Jean-Jacques Rousseau looked at humans natural impulses. He believed that humans were born good and were only then made bad by societies rules. He believed that if they were given the option of living freely then they would develop good and would be happy. Because of this he proposed a government that would give humans as much freedom as possible. He suggested the notion of general will. This is that one must inhibit their personal will for the good of others and act in ways that are beneficial to the community. I think he believed this because of his childhood. He grew up acting on his personal impulses and it was not beneficial to the community. I think that when he grew up he realized that this is not how a civilized society should act.
I find the notion that we are born good interesting. I believe that in general humans are born good and we can choose to stay that way or become bad, but I also believe that we are born with some bad, such as selfishness. I think that no matter the society we live in, we will still remain somewhat selfish at heart. Although I think it is very possible to overcome selfishness if you strive for it.
It is also interesting that Rousseau wrote a book on how a child should be educated. He discussed the best relationship for a child and tutor. He believed that education should be particular to each individual child’s talents and interests. Rousseau discusses that a tutor should let his student learn some on his own. I really like this idea of education because so many times students just learn things in different ways. We all have different strengths and different talents and if you do fit into the standard way of learning then you are left behind. I think that if more educational institutions would pick up on Rousseau’s theory of education many more people would have a better educational experience.
I believe that much of what Rousseau believed in his later life stemmed from his experiences in childhood. He was abandoned by his father, suffered from poor health, moved all the time and changed jobs frequently, and was poor much of his life. He did not have an easy childhood and I believe he took those experiences and used them to create theories of a better life than what he was given.
LeeAnn Green on Soren Kierkegaard and the church today
9:04 pm, 02.21.11
I think that many times, as a Christian, it is easy to fall into just doing things because that is what is expected or because it is what we are used to. Many people only go to church on Sunday’s because they grew up doing that. I think that we must find a personal relationship with God and we should want to go to church not feel like we have to.
LeeAnn Green on Goethe’s Growing Goal
9:01 pm, 02.21.11
I really like Goethe’s idea of embracing the positive and negative. Everyone has good times and bad times in their life and I think when you realize that there will be both you can live a better and fuller life. We must remember that life is not always going to be wonderful, but it’s not always going to be horrible either.
LeeAnn Green on Priorities
5:47 pm, 02.02.11
I really like the idea that everything we do is in order to find happiness. I also agree that it is very much about the priorities in our lives. I think that it is important to put God first in our life in order to find true happiness. I think that when we put God first other things will usually fall into place.
LeeAnn Green on Plato and Aristotle: The Relationship of Teacher and Student
5:39 pm, 02.02.11
I really like what you said about how in Plato and Aristotle’s time they would learn their teachers views but then make it their own. It is often disappointing to me how people will listen to their teachers and agree with everything they say blindly. Most students do not take the time to research and study for themselves and then form their own views and opinions. That is something I think we should work on.
LeeAnn Green on Views of Happiness?
5:36 pm, 02.02.11
I agree with your statements about fulfilling our purpose. I believe that we can continually fulfill our purpose. We do not have to be old and dying to achieve happiness by fulfillment. I think that sometimes our purpose is to do the little things in life and those are just as important as the big things.