Rousseau And Education Essay, Research Paper
Rousseau’s profound insight can be found in almost every trace of modern philosophy today. Somewhat complicated and ambiguous, Rousseau’s general philosophy tried to grasp an emotional and passionate side of man which he felt was left out of most previous philosophical thinking.
In his early writing, Rousseau contended that man is essentially good, a “noble savage” when in the state of nature (the state of all the other animals, and the condition man was in before the creation of civilization and society), and that good people are made unhappy and corrupted by their experiences in society. He viewed society as “artificial” and “corrupt” and that the furthering of society results in the continuing unhappiness of man.
Rousseau’s essay, “Discourse on the Arts and Sciences”, argued that the advancement of art and science had not been beneficial to mankind. He proposed that the progress of knowledge had made governments more powerful, and crushed individual liberty. He concluded that material progress had actually undermined the possibility of sincere friendship, replacing it with jealousy, fear and suspicion.
One of the primary principles of Rousseau’s political philosophy is that politics and morality should not be separated. When a state fails to act in a moral fashion, it ceases to function in the proper manner and ceases to exert genuine authority over the individual. The second important principle is freedom, which the state is created to preserve.
Rousseau’s ideas about education have profoundly influenced modern educational theory. He minimizes the importance of book learning, and recommends that a child’s emotions should be educated before his reason. He placed a special emphasis on learning by experience.
His educational model is a 5 stage learning process which hinges on the previously mentioned ideals of living and learning. The first stage is infancy, from birth to about two years. Infancy ends with the weaning of the child. During this stage he is given more liberty but less power. What this means is that the child is now able to only do what he can do for himself without the assistance of others. He therefore does not have the power to do all things, but the freedom to do that which he can.
The second stage, from two to ten or twelve, is ‘the age of Nature’. During this time, the child receives only a ‘negative education’: no moral instruction, no verbal learning. He is secluded from the negative influences of society and learns only from nature.
Stage 3, or the preadolescent stage ranges from age 12 until age 15 and is based on the idea that at this point the child can understand some reason and learned facts. He is then taught using books and other outside resources but still without much interference from societal prejudices.
By the time a student is 15, Rousseau believes his reason will be well developed, and he will then be able to deal with he sees as the dangerous emotions of adolescence, and with moral issues and religion. This stage of puberty is seen as the birth into manhood. As before, he still wants to hold back societal pressures and influences so that the natural tendencies of the person may emerge without corruption. During this stage there is a gradual entry into community life.
In the final stage of adulthood, ages 20-25, the student is introduced to his ideal partner. He learns about love, and is ready to return to society, proof, Rousseau hopes, after such a lengthy preparation, against its corrupting influences. The final task of the tutor is to instruct the young couple in their marital rights and duties.
Rousseau does not believe this form of education should be used for both female and male students. While male students are taught first by the physical and then by the mental, females are only taught by the physical. Women are merely to cultivate their subtility and beauty. Their training for womanhood up to the age of ten involves physical training for grace; the dressing of dolls leading to drawing, writing, counting and reading; and the prevention of idleness and indocility. After the age of ten there is a concern with adornment, the arts of pleasing, and religion.
Rousseau bases his view of life and education on one main principle the principle of autonomy. He believes that people should govern themselves both physically and mentally with self-cultivated reason and without the influence of society. His educational process reflects this ideal, however he is quite hypocritical as Wollstonecraft points out. Rousseau s belief that men and women are different and should therefore me educated different is based on the influence of society. Rousseau only believes men should be autonomous and not women.
In conclusion, Rousseau built part of the foundation of our educational process today and also gave a starting point for many women s rights activists such was Wollstonecraft. While I may not agree with his educational model, I do agree with his intentions of making good autonomous citizens. He is both a philosopher to be admired and questioned.
334
Другие работы по теме:
Enlightnement Thinkers Essay Research Paper Enlightenment philosophers
Enlightnement Thinkers Essay, Research Paper Enlightenment philosophers have had a profound impact on the progress of society, they quite simply have provided the structure for government today. European thinkers such as John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are some of the European political thinkers who have changed the course of history.
French Literature In The Age Of Reason
Essay, Research Paper French Literature in the Age of Reason Essay submitted by Carri Fjell The Age of Reason, or the Enlightenment, was a period in France during the 1700’s
World Civilization Essay Research Paper World Civilization
World Civilization Essay, Research Paper World Civilization II January 14, 2000 The Lesser Half When Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote about the inequalities of women it was acceptable for that time period. During the 1700’s a women’s role was primarily to bear and raise their children, which is emphasized by Rousseau in Emile.
Jean Jacques Rosseau Essay Research Paper Rousseau
Jean Jacques Rosseau Essay, Research Paper Rousseau was born in Geneva, the son of a watchmaker. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his aunt and uncle raised him. At 16 he set out on into the world which brought him into contact with Louise de Warens, who became his patron and later his lover. She arranged for his trip to Turin, where he became a Roman Catholic convert.
Rousseau Essay Research Paper Jean Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau Essay, Research Paper Jean Jacques Rousseau a French philosopher and theorist, has had an effect on societies of in the past by his expression of general will. In the general will freedom and equality are presupposed. Governments of the past and present have had Roussean content. Freedom and equality have presupposed each other by way of the general will and compelled obedience.
A Comparison Of Hobbes Rousse Essay Research
Paper Hobbes state of war is the basis for his philosophical discourse on human nature. Where Rousseau says that man is compassionate and good to others in his nature, Hobbes argues that man is only out for himself.
Debate Over Man Being Inherently Good Or
Evil Essay, Research Paper The debate over man being inherently good or evil is a debate which has raged since the beginning of time. Rousseau and William Golding do not shy away from taking a stance on the subject. But while Rousseau believes “nothing can be more gentle than man in his primitive state,” Golding’s believes quite the opposite.
911 And JeanJacques Rousseau Essay Research Paper
L?Etat C?est Moi : Absolutism in the Age of ReasonBy analyzing the Taliban regime and their motives, Jean-Jacques Rousseau?s ideas, and by comparing the two, it will be made evident that Jean-Jacques Rousseau?s ideas of government rule over people?s lives is true in this specific case.
JeanJacques Rousseau Essay Research Paper Jean Jacques
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Essay, Research Paper Jean Jacques RousseauRousseau, Jean-Jacques, was born on June 28, 1712 in Geneva, Switzerland. Since his mother passed away three days after he was born he began his life with one of his aunts and his father. Rousseau was forced to move from home to home, living with various people.
The Influence Of Enlightenment On The French
Revolution Essay, Research Paper What is enlightenment? The 18th century Enlightenment was a movement of the intellectuals who dared to prove all the aspects in life scientifically. German philosopher Immauel Kant proclaimed the motto of the enlightenment : ?Dare to know!: Have the courage to use your own intelligence!? People were greatly impressed by the scientific revolution.
Mary Wollstonecraft Essay Research Paper The neglected
Mary Wollstonecraft Essay, Research Paper The neglected education of my fellow-creatures is the grand source of the misery I deplore. -Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Rousseau and Wollstonecraft believed that children should be allowed to grow freely and learn to use their education practically.
Role Of Property Philosophers Of Glorious Revolution
? In England Essay, Research Paper The Role of Property In the seventeenth-century, England was recovering from the “Glorious Revolution” and political thought centered on the issues of nature and the limits of government. Two great political thinkers, John Locke and Thomas Hobbes took a scientific approach to analyze government and focused on the state of nature and natural rights of individuals.
MacKinnon Essay Research Paper Rousseau and Marx
MacKinnon Essay, Research Paper Rousseau and Marx spearhead the movement of the worker. They attempt to alter current, unjust, stifling situations and bring a natural equivalence to all. Yet, throughout their works, they hardly mention the role of women. Marx does, at one point, acknowledge that women should no longer be known as “private”, but as “collective”: open and free to all men.
Jean Jacques Rousseau Essay Research Paper Jean
Jean Jacques Rousseau Essay, Research Paper Jean Jacques Rousseau was a very famous french philosopher. He wrote many popular stories and operas during his life. He was a very smart man who was born into a disturbed family.
Political Philosophers Essay Research Paper Political PhilosophersJeremy
Political Philosophers Essay, Research Paper Political Philosophers Jeremy Bentham figured that laws should be socially useful and not merely reflect the status quo. While he believed that men inevitably pursue pleasure and avoid pain, Bentham thought it to be a sacred truth that the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation.
Crusoe Savage Man Essay Research Paper The
Crusoe Savage Man Essay, Research Paper The book Robinson Crusoe1 written by Daniel Defoe is about a young man who learns about the real world by “traveling the seas,” in doing so he skips the “middle station” of his life and away from the safety nets of his parents. Jean-Jacques Rousseau author of, The First and Second Discourses2, describes the savage man as he perceives him to be.
Listening To The Past A New
Way To Educate Children Essay, Research Paper Listening To The Past: A New Way to Educate Children Rousseau lobbies against an educational system that tries to teach children concepts and facts before such time, as they would make use of them. He believes that a child should not neglect those studies, which meet his present needs, in order to learn that which he may acquire in later years.
Intellect ManS Greatest Power Essay Research Paper
Can intellectual advancement lead to a general regression in our existence? Both Rousseau and Virilio deal with this question, but in very different ways. Rousseau examines this question in the broadest sense, by back tracking to the origin of intellect. Virilio, on the other hand, speaks of a very specific type of intellectual advancement, namely-the invention of a long range nuclear missile.
Rousseau Essay Research Paper Rousseau and ReligionRousseau
Rousseau Essay, Research Paper Rousseau and ReligionRousseau concludes his Social Contract with a chapter on religion. His view on the subject is subtle and interesting; and moreover, I maintain that it provides us with one of the keys to Rousseau’s thought. Rousseau’s near-deification of the General Will has led many analysts to argue that Rousseau’s state is merely secularized Christianity.
Locke In Rousseau
’s Eye Essay, Research Paper The state of nature, as described by Locke, is a state of perfect freedom, a state in which man is completely free, but would Rousseau agree with this? The answer to this question is more complex than it seems. Locke and Rousseau, both great philosophers of their time, have similar ideas, but the similarities between them end at that.
Theater And Govt Essay Research Paper Government
Theater And Govt Essay, Research Paper Government is an interesting concept developed by humans in order to come together and form a better way of life. Government often times has stepped in to judge what this better way of life should be. In current times, there has been the near censorship of art and in the past theatrical world, the morals of a community are mandated by government.
The Philosophes Essay Research Paper The PhilosophesThe
The Philosophes Essay, Research Paper The Philosophes The Age of Enlightenment was the result of the actions that had taken place by intellectuals who gave new thought to the ideas of politics, economics, religion, and the
Rousseau S Autonomy And The Ir Essay
, Research Paper Autonomy is literally self-rule or self-government. Autonomy has often been thought to bear a particularly close relation to democracy. Only in a democracy, it is sometimes said, can an individual or a people be truly autonomous. Spelling out why this should be so, however, takes some care.
Man And The State Of Nature Essay
, Research Paper Man in the State of Nature Man’s transition from the state of nature into society is a topic that has been discussed by many philosophers in the past centuries. What is the state of nature for Rousseau and how does man go from it into society? I will explain and occasionally criticize how this happens according to Rousseau.
Rousseau And The Ideal Society Essay Research
Paper Rousseaue and the Ideal Society “Has the progress of the arts and sciences contributed more to the corruption or purification of morals?” Rousseau criticized social institutions for having corrupted the essential goodness of nature and the human heart. Rousseaue believed that by becoming “civilized”, society has actually become worse because good people are made unhappy and are corrupted by their experiences in society..
What Is Liberty Essay Research Paper What
What Is Liberty Essay, Research Paper What is Liberty? During the age of enlightenment many philosophes had different views on the definition of liberty. In the opinion of the philosophes , Voltaire, Smith, Montesquieu and Rousseau the four ideals were almost identical. Voltaire stated, Liberty is the life of the soul.
Rousseau Origin Of Inequality Essay Research Paper
The Origin of Inequality In Rousseau s Discourse on the Origin of Inequalities , Rousseau tries to explain the birth and evolution of inequality between humans dating back to savage man in the pure state of nature. Rousseau proposes that it was not man that progressed toward inequality as much as it was the state of nature itself.
Laws
– Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau Essay, Research Paper Laws. We all must obey them, but why? For fear of going to jail, or being fined? Those are the individual effects of civil disobedience, but what happens what is the purpose of law in society? Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all attempted to interpret the need for laws in society, in order to maintain the good of the whole and the individual.
Hobbes Locke And Rousseau On Social Contract
Essay, Research Paper “Social Contract, agreement by which human beings are said to have abandoned the “state of nature” in order to form the society in which they now live. HOBBES, LOCKE, and J.J. ROUSSEAU each developed differing versions of the social contract, but all agreed that certain freedoms had been surrendered for society’s protection and that the government has definite responsibilities to its citizens.
Enlightenment Essay Research Paper The Enlightenment Torn
Enlightenment Essay, Research Paper The Enlightenment Torn Apart Based on Rousseau’s criticism of Enlightenment ideas, the French Revolution did and did not implement the ways of the Enlightenment. Rousseau sees a number of problems within the thinking of the Enlightenment, preferably when dealing with the arts and sciences.
Locke And Rousseau
– Compare/Contrast Essay, Research Paper Although their ideologies sometimes clashed, and they came from two distinctly different epochs in the course of political development, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau?s fundamental arguments address several similar points. These five main themes which significantly overlap and thus cannot be addressed separately, are the state of nature, the basis for the development of government, the primary intent of government, the state of war, and the ultimate effect of the state on the individual and vice versa.
Hobbes Locke Rousseau Essay Research Paper Thomas
Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau Essay, Research Paper Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed theories on human nature and how men govern themselves. With the passing of time, political views on the philosophy of government gradually changed. Despite their differences, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, all became three of the most influential political theorists in the world.