The state of nature and the emergence of the human capacity to reason have been a common interest for writers throughout history. John Stuart Mill, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke all address these questions in their works “On Liberty”, “Discourse On The Origins of Inequality” and “Second Treatise of Government” respectively. The authors agree that the state of nature is the era before civilization and government, but they all differ in their ideas about the importance of reason in the state of nature. While Mills and Locke take a positive view of the role of reason in society, Rousseau believes. that it is the basis of the corruption of morals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"?Get the original essayIn John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, he argues that the "natural" "The human capacity to reason depends on debate with those who have opposing ideas. According to Mill, the purpose of debate is not to persuade the other side to change their way of thinking, but rather to justify their own opinions while refuting the opposition. Only through this process, someone. Can one truly understand and form an opinion? Throughout his work, Mill continually asserts the importance of the individual. Each individual is free to form their own opinion on life. It is necessary to understand the arguments of the opposing side in order to truly understand one's own opinion. By using reason to establish one's opinion and refute the ideas of others, one effectively uses one's "natural" human ability to reason in order to self-advocate. form an informed opinion. Without considering alternative views on a position, there is insufficient meaning to justify a claim. Mill emphasizes that one should not believe anything unless one can justify the reasons why the opinion is correct. In order to understand the truth, one must use reason to refute all alternative possibilities. If an opinion is not debated thoroughly, then its meaning is lost. While Mill takes a positive view of reason, Rousseau's claim about reason is negative. He believes that reason is responsible for many of the problems plaguing civil society. In Discourse on Science and the Arts and Discourse on the Origin of Inequalities, Rousseau describes man's fall from the state of nature. He describes this state as the condition of man before the development of society and reason. All humans are naturally good and compassionate; therefore, in the state of nature, there is no need for morality or reason. People will do the right thing out of compassion. As reason develops, man becomes corrupted and suffers a fall from his initial position. Man's compassion eventually evolves into competition, leaving morality out of the equation. Institutions of reason, such as education, are responsible for this need to distinguish oneself from others. The need to be better than others ends up becoming the motive for our actions, rather than compassion. This demoralization of humanity is a stage that Rousseau does not believe he can reverse. Reason has been corrupted and used for self-interest; therefore, its institutions, such as education, cannot be used to restore humans to their natural state. Locke believes that reason is the guiding force of the state of nature, which is expressly different from the view of Rousseau, who believes that compassion is the guiding force of the state of nature. The force that governs the state of nature and reason is what brought men out of the state of nature. Like Mill, Locke looks.