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Essay / Rousseau and Hobbes' views on the value of language
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his predecessor, Thomas Hobbes, both approach the question of language by constructing a concept of the state of nature and the origin of human society, a favorite mental exercise of 17th and 18th century philosophers like them. Both agree that language elevates – or, perhaps more appropriately with regard to Rousseau, separates – man from beast and facilitates man's departure from the state of nature. . Their different conceptions of the state of nature and those of civil society in turn reflect their divergent judgments about the value and consequences of language. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Thomas Hobbes, in his Leviathan, describes the natural state of man who is in constant conflict and misery, which “during the period when men live without a common power to keep them all in fear, they are in that condition which is called war; and such war, as is the case of every man, against every man... in which men live [in] continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, wicked, brutal and short” (Hobbes, 84). One of the premises behind Thomas Hobbes' notion of a state of nature is the law of nature, "which writers commonly call jus naturale...the freedom which each man possesses to use his own power, as he 'hears himself, for the preservation of his own nature' (Hobbes, 86). According to Hobbes, this natural juice will cause the generation of a commonwealth “to defend them from the invasion of strangers and the harm of one another” (Hobbes, 114). The republic is created by an alliance "when a multitude of men agree... each, with each, that to any man or assembly of men, the majority shall receive the right of presenting the person of all" ( Hobbes 115). Only then can man live in peace. Interestingly, Hobbes's discussion of language precedes his discussion of the state of nature in Leviathan. , a chapter entitled "Of Speech", Hobbes defines speech as "consisting of names or appellations and their connection" (Hobbes, 20), and cites the four main uses of speech: first, "to transfer our speech mental in verbal", secondly, "to show others the knowledge we have achieved", thirdly, "to make known to others our wishes and purposes, so that we can help each other", and finally, "by playing with our words, for pleasure or for ornament” (Hobbes, 21). According to Hobbes, speech was first given to humanity by God, who "taught Adam how to name the creatures which he presented to his sight", thus establishing for the first time "the names and their connection ". For these reasons, Hobbes extols speech as "the noblest and most profitable invention of all others... without which, among men, there had been neither republic, nor society, nor contract, nor peace, no more than among lions, bears, and wolves” (Hobbes, 20). With communication comes the possibility of mutual understanding between men, and it is therefore only through speech that men can leave the state of nature. In addition to the critical capacity for communication that language offers, Hobbes also proposes a more questionable function of language in his ideal Commonwealth. According to Hobbes, truth and falsity consist of either affirming or denying the connection between two names, and thus, "where there is no speech, there is neither truth nor falsehood" (Hobbes, 23). Furthermore, it calls into question the entire basis ofknowledge and philosophy. Hobbes argues that we cannot rely on nature to reveal true reality because the only way we can experience the world is through our senses, so “although the nature of what we conceive is the same; respect for the different constitutions of the body and the prejudices of opinion gives to everything a tincture of our different passions” (Hobbes, 27). Instead, Hobbes suggests establishment of initial definitions by the sovereign, on which all members of society must agree. All resulting conclusions arise from logical syllogisms based on these first principles. Thus, Hobbes provides a deductive basis for knowledge, much like in geometry, which Hobbes praises as "the only science which it has hitherto pleased God to bestow on mankind" (Hobbes, 23) where everyone has accepted certain definitions and basic principles, after which geometric truths logically follow. When philosophical reasoning is thus reduced to mathematics, all truths and knowledge derived from these early accepted definitions become irrefutable, in the same way that geometric proofs are irrefutable. In this way, Hobbes boldly bases the entire nature of truth and epistemology on language, a human construct. In his Discourse on the Origin of Inequalities, Jean-Jacques Rousseau draws up an exhaustive diatribe against modern society and the entire history of human progress. He begins by describing the state of man before his entry into society, a concept commonly considered diametrically opposed to that of Hobbes. According to Rousseau, the “wild man” finds himself in an idyllic and peaceful state, produced in part by his ignorance and simplicity of mind. Rousseau argues that since wild man is naturally unsociable and natural resources are unlimited, wild man remains largely solitary and has very little contact with others, therefore very little risk of conflict, which is very opposed to Hobbes' idea of the perpetual state of humanity. war in nature. Furthermore, Rousseau believes that two natural laws, which existed before reason, govern the interaction between humans in the state of nature: self-preservation and mercy. The first is already familiar to us, but the second suggests a gentler view of human nature than Hobbes. Rousseau describes pity as “a natural repugnance at seeing any sentient being, in particular our neighbor, perish or suffer” (Rousseau, 35). Pity, which moderates self-preservation, “contributes to the mutual preservation of the entire species... takes the place of laws, morals and virtue” (Rousseau 55). Thus, the state of nature was harmonious, even if it was crude and primitive. In fact, man in Rousseau's state of nature does not differ much from animals. However, the faculties specific to man are enough to propel him out of the state of nature. First, while animals act by instinct, man acts by choice. Man's ability to choose makes him less sensitive to nature than other animals. More importantly, Rousseau attributes to man the faculty of self-improvement, the capacity to adapt, to change according to his environment. He maintains that it is precisely this perfectibility in man which is at the origin of his fall from the state of nature. One aspect of man's perfectibility is the development of language. Rousseau underlines here an apparent paradox concerning the origin of language: “because if men need to speak to learn to think, they need even more to know how to think to discover the art of speaking” (Rousseau, 49). ). But instead of addressing this question, Rousseau adds another paradox: the vocal articulations of thingsmust be obtained by “unanimous consent” but language is necessary to express consent, thus “word seems to have been necessary to establish the use of speech” (Rousseau, 50). Whatever the origins, Rousseau argues that language was necessary to develop abstract reasoning and that “general ideas can only be introduced into the mind with the help of words” (Rousseau, 50). Rousseau gives the simple example of the tree: without language, man cannot conceive the general idea of a tree, he can only represent a particular tree, with a certain height, a certain color, etc. Abstract or complex ideas therefore only appear when man gives them names. Natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes caused man to become more and more associated with each other, and language developed further. Man made tools and built cabins, enabling the concept of family. Eventually, as man became more social, natural pity was replaced by self-love: "People formed the habit of gathering in front of their huts...singing and dancing...became the 'amusement or rather the occupation of idle men and women. “Everyone began to look at others and want to be looked at himself, and public esteem had a value” (Rousseau 64). With the construction of homes, the beginnings of agriculture, which, according to Rousseau, is only possible with human communication, and the beginnings of interdependence, the notion of property evolved and natural equality was disappeared. The second part of Rousseau's Speech begins: "the first who, after having fenced off a piece of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe it, was the true founder of the society civil” (Rousseau, 60). The physical act of saying the words this is mine and the abstract idea of possession are only possible with language. Property and the division of labor made men morally unequal, and the rich and powerful, wanting to protect their property, invented “specious reasons to lead [the weak] to their goal” (Rousseau, 69). Under the pretext of mutual protection, the powerful have instituted "rules of justice and peace to which all will be obliged to conform" which only reinforce inequality, and "such was... the origin of society and laws, which gave new constraints to the weak and new strength to the rich.” , irremediably destroyed natural freedom, established forever the law of property and inequality, changed adroit usurpation into an irrevocable right, and for the benefit of a few ambitious people henceforth subjected the entire human race to work, to servitude and poverty. » (Rousseau, 70). Both Hobbes and Rousseau advance to some extent the idea that language constructs reality. For Hobbes, truth itself is an artificial human construct based solely on language. Its all-powerful sovereign, who decides on definitions and first principles, acts only to eliminate dissensions, and his judgments, although arbitrary, cannot be challenged. This absolute power of the sovereign to decide how people should think and what they should know is comparable to fascism. However, Hobbes believes that the fear of the sovereign is far preferable to the mutual fear of the other and that anything is better than the state of nature. For Rousseau, language also has the capacity to construct reality. According to him, it is only with the knowledge of words like "love", "jealousy" and "possession" that these concepts can arise, and therefore reality as we have it is limited and depends on names and names. words we invented. until.