Introduction to Rousseau: The Social Contract

In this video, I look at Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract and introduce some of his ideas, including the General Will, amour de soi, and amour propre.

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[skate]

Bruh, I sat through like four lectures on rousseau and understood none of it. This 8 minutes on quickspeed has just taught me way more.

[MclarenFrocket]

You are pumping out really really informative and very well edited videos - as a student taking his first philosophy courses, thank you so much!!

[edmondyu]

I have contributed a Chinese (zh) translation for this Youtube video.
Your work is excellent, please approve my subtitle contribution so that more Hong Kong and Taiwan people can share your great work. Thanks a lot.

[HahnenschreidesPositivismus]

This video actually inspires me to read Rousseau.

[jacquin]

Addresses important ideas for both the enfranchised and the disenfranchised in modern times... JJR clarifies the perils of economic inequality, which gives rise to those who feign to act according to the general will but pursue their own ends (I:ix); and validates those who would prefer to opt out of the social contract - while reminding them why the state exists in the first place, and what is gained and lost in returning to the "natural state" (I:viii).

[j.stonehouse]

I read Book I and was lost, this will help a lot with my next few read throughs. I appreciate the effort you made. Thank you.

[MarinnaS]

thank you! studying hard for my exam tomorrow. this helped!

[liznyambura]

Funny how something that could not be understood in months can easily be understood and summarized in minutes

[poisontango]

This was extremely well summarized, and I love the appropriate selections from the book. Well done!

[sabarca]

Thank you for this. This is very useful for my upcoming book.

[shellyvision]

POV: You had to watch this for school work.

[JohnJohnson-wmbm]

Been reading this work for about a week. My second time through now. I've missed a great deal. Thanks for the video

[ronaldderooij]

Strong point that Rousseau wants to make political theory from psychology. Weak is that he needs a fictitious "social contract" and "state of nature" as idealistic types. As a political scientist, I never could work with the social contract as a legitimation of state power over their cititizens.

[trorisk]

She is one of the best English-language critics I have heard of Rousseau. Often I hear the same criticisms from students who have not read Rousseau but only rousseau's critics.
There would be some criticism about the end to be refined. For example, for him the election is not a democratic process but, by construction, by definition, an aristocratic one. And all of a sudden, we have a different outlook compared to what we know today. "Forcing someone to be free" is not that they go to vote, but that they confront each other's ideas on a particular subject. And together they find a solution.
There are problems of scale when you have a nation like the US. But philosophically on the scale of a city it's very interesting.

[danijelstarcevic]

Anarchists are not against rules and laws. They are against unjustified rules and laws. This does not mean that submitting yourself to rules and laws is never justified or that rules and laws are never justified.
Anarchism is political philosophy and a social movement that aims to establish order that is compatible with individual freedom and flourishing.

[aaronhelmsman]

Not enough videos on Rousseau and The Social Contract. Thank you

[oh_rhythm]

He used pity where empathy would fit better; not sure if that word was prevalent then.
He's got a point though, without a unifying agenda, people become competitors instead of cooperators.

[xyoungdipsetx]

Can you make a video on John Locke? And Thomas Hobbes

[franklinfalco]

There has never been a group of people living in a pure state of nature without any culture.

[rickyracer]

This is one of my long lost relatives in our family tree!! 😂 We're direct descendants... So strange to be watching this!