Arts and Humanities in Rosseau's Second Discourse And Other Pieces Of Work

Arts and Humanities in Rousseau's Second Discourse and other Pieces of Work

In the second discourse, Rousseau changes progress and decries imprisoning in men, in a fabricated logic of civilization. Rousseau uses striking language, "the sciences, letters and arts….." However, he believes that the new arts and sciences portray the appearance but not the reality of virtue, which he believes is core to civilization. In addition, he asserts that humanity in the state of nature was ethical and good because, in their primitive simplicity, human beings could not deceive each other (Gourevitch 23-59). However, the sciences undermine morality and threaten the well-being of human beings. Therefore, civilization based on these sciences is a mode of concealing the vices of humanity. To make strong his point, Rousseau gives an example of the Spartans whom he describes as virtuous. He...
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