The Research Of Rousseau’s Theory Of Moral Sense

In Europe during the 18th century,a huge and unprecedented ideological emancipation movement——the Enlightenment prospered.A number of radical figures of the enlightenment,such as Denis Diderot,Montesquieu and Voltaire,highly held the banner of " rational supremacy " and thought that all rules of life came from rationality.Rousseau was keenly aware of the shortcomings of modern civilized society,turning to the theory of moral sense on the basis of deep reflection and criticism,and paying more attention to sense.Rousseau took the "state of nature" as a reference and criticized the disadvantages of civilized society.He pointed out that the evolution of civilized society caused social inequality and unfreedom,and also led to the degeneration of human nature,moral decay.Enlightenment scholars exaggerated rationality and neglected sense,which aggravated the social crisis.Therefore,Rousseau advocates returning to human nature to seek the emotional basis of morality and tracing the origin and development of moral sense.This paper is divided into five parts.The first part systematically sorts out the background of the theory of Rousseau’s moral sense.It includes Rousseau’s personal experience,social status and the inheritance and development of the moral sense thought of Shaftesbury,Hutchinson and Butler.The second part mainly discusses the natural basis of morality.Rousseau thought that natural sense was the source of moral sense,and from which he found the kind sense that makes virtue from human nature,namely self-love and sympathy.People rely on conscience in moral choice,regarding it as the highest principle to judge good and evil,and guiding the moral value judgment of behavior or phenomenon,even the formation of moral behavior.The natural basis of morality is ultimately to shape the human moral character;The third part mainly discuss the relationship between natural sense and social virtue.Natural sense is closely related to social virtue,which develops on the basis of natural sense but is different from natural sense.The fourth part mainly discusses the return of moral sense.The modern civilized society has caused the social morals to degenerate,the human nature dissimilation,and the disappearing of the freedom and the equality that the modern people should enjoy.Rousseau restores moral sense by constructing political system and moral education.The fifth part mainly discusses the contribution of Rousseau ’s moral sense to modern ethics and the enlightenment to our country.