From "on The Unequal" To The "social Contract"

In the history of Western legal thought, Rousseau has been an important character. His "Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men "and "The Social Contract" also have been the classical text which researchers interpret. But simultaneously as a result of the complexity of these two texts, explanations of them are open without doubt.This article attempts to reinterpret these two texts, taking "the freedom" as a clue, and tries hard to grasp the intrinsic connection between both of them. This article divides into three parts: introduction, body and conclusion, altogether approximately 30,000 characters.The introduction of this paper is mainly about the significance and the research angle of view.The first chapter of this paper is about the theory background which produces Rousseau's free theory. At first the author demonstrates Rousseau's question consciousness through Rousseau's early important work "on Science and Art", and reviews the history background under which this question came into being to find out the origin of the question of modernity. Specifically this chapter consists of three parts: in the first part, I want to demonstrate the political return of Machiavelli through the analysis of Christianity and the ancient political understanding. Second step, , I try to point out the paradox in Hobbes' thought: the intrinsic tension between Self-preservation and citizen's political duty; Third step, ,I want to point out the intrinsic uniformity of two thinkers and then end in the question which "On Science and Art" unfolds: the corruption of the moral foundation of state due to the theories explained by Hobbes and Locker; Finally, I want to introduce Rousseau's solution: Rousseau devotes to establish a kind of true morals in the foundation of "freedom". I want to induce three free ideas of Rousseau through "The Social Contract": The natural freedom, the social freedom and the moral freedom, and to understand the integrity of Rousseau's thought through transform of three kinds of freedom.The second chapter is about the natural freedom in Rousseau's theory. This chapter is about the insights of natural freedom, taking "Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men "as the analysis object. With the aid of Kant's analysis frame, this chapter demonstrates complete connotation and renewals of Rousseau's natural freedom, analyzing the natural human from three aspects: the knowledge, the sentiment and the will, and demonstrates the differences between Rousseau and Hobbes and inherent contradiction of Rousseau. In the aspect of the rationality, there is a contradiction in Rousseau's natural human: Rousseau's natural human is in the ignorant animal condition, but in essence, he is certainly not an animal who has the ability of self-perfection. This kind of ability is the essential difference between humans and animals, though there is no difference in the form between them in the natural state. In the aspect of the will, the natural human is restrained by the natural principle for his survival on the one hand. But on the other hand, takes is different with any animal's person, he still holds his distinctive quality: free quality. Looked from the emotion that Rousseau thought Hobbes about the fervor elaboration is absurd, he therefore proposed the natural person has two kind of emotions; First, human from compassion; first, the human pities the heart. Through such to the rationality, the will, the emotion launches is different with traditional the again understanding, Rousseau's intention clear present is: Must to be free from the natural random free rise to be able the legislative morals.The third chapter is about Rousseau's social free theory. The overall mentality which this part of contracts when analyze "Discusses Human not Equal Origin And Foundation" this text are established, "Discusses take Social contract" this text as the support, pointed out Rousseau how in the preamble nature free does lay a foundation on to the social free transition. In "Social contract Discusses", Rousseau by the public welfare said that takes this transition the junction. But this concept relies on because of the intrinsic contradiction the big legislator and citizen religion entering the stage. The big legislator has manifested with the rational intrinsic connection: The big legislator has one kind of highest wisdom, has represented one kind of noble rational existence, he has made up in a bad society by his high-level rationality the rational knowledge ability insufficiency. But the big legislator is also incapable: Does not have the enough rational ability people when facing a crowd, he can only resort to convincing, but cannot take the military force as the method, he throughout being under the control of others people's agreement. Therefore, the big legislator transforms gradually to the religious prophet. The religious prophet has manifested with the emotion intrinsic connection: The religious prophet and the legislator are different, facing populace, he more resorting to deceit, but must convinces; he will complete his enterprise through the establishment religion. But this kind of citizen religion, speaking of its essence, already by no means one pure religion, but is one kind of social sentiment merely, but the political community's morals only then found the foundation in this kind of emotion.The conclusion part, this article reviews the free idea of Rousseau, and places it in a bigger thought background to evaluate, want to obtain an objective fair and just understanding.In short, this article tries to grasp Rousseau's unified intrinsic mentality in these two texts through analyzing "Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men" and "the Social contract ", and to demonstrate that freedom in the Rousseau writing is not only person's one kind of ability, but also person's goal.