Rousseau's Thought Of Freedom

Freedom plays a core role in Rousseau's thoughts of political philosophy.It is not only the starting point of Rousseau's whole theory system,but also its destination.The freedom that Rousseau discussed starts with the state of nature.At this stage,the manifestation of freedom is the fact that men are unaware of,that is to say,people have natural freedom.Through the narration of natural freedom,Rousseau affirmed the nature of man as a free being,what is more,the holiness of freedom as a kind of inviolable right.The intensification of social inequality forces people to pursue a path to true freedom,enabling people to feel freedom from the heart.Therefor,Rousseau also resorted to another kind of freedom with higher level,that is to say,which is achieved by the freedom of morality.It is through the freedom of morality that one can begin to metamorphose from a primitive,unenlightened and ignorant animal into an intelligent and thoughtful animal,gradually becomes a person who are able to use rational thinking,and finally becomes a person with conscientiousness,morality and self-discipline,and really becomes his own master.If there is a good system to establish a good social mechanism on the outside,combined with the inherent moral freedom,true freedom of the human will have a possibility.People are their own masters but also the masters of society,in order to enjoy real freedom in the state of society.These three kinds of free forms of Rousseau respectively embodies the three different forms,different stages and different depths of freedom that human beings themselves have experienced in different social and historical development process.As a matter of fact,if there is no existence of a community which embodies the will of the public and common interests united by each individual,personal happiness and freedom may become a meaningless term.In the same way,because individuals also identify with and submit to the community,consequently,it forms a kind of alignment between individuals and community.At this time,the society is not a community with coercion,but a community with freedom.Furthermore,it is a carrier which can achieve individual freedom and dignity,and it is the final destination which individuals can realize their own values.