Rousseau and the Positive Theory of Liberty Essays -- Philosophy

Liberty impacts 2 main areas of political thought the state of nature and the social contract. This essay will examine wither or not it is proper to characterize Jean Jacque Rousseau as holding a electropositive theory of liberty. To determine to what extends this is true the following areas must be taken into account and explored the definitions of liberty and assoildom, Isaiah Berlins concept of positive and negative liberty, Rousseau understands of Liberty and also why Rousseaus theory can be characterised as positive liberty. The main argument of this essay is that Rousseau does hold a positive theory of liberty. Jean Jacque Rousseau was born on the 28th June 1712 and died on the 2nd July 1778. Rousseau was a major Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century during the Romanticism era. His political philosophy was heavily influenced by the French Revolution and the American Revolution and also influenced his overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought. Some of Rousseaus famous works include the Social Contract or Du contrat social (1762) and Emile (1762). Firstly before establishing withers or not Rousseaus theory of liberty is characterized as positive it important to begin defining what Liberty actually is. The Oxford dictionary defines liberty as the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on ones behavior or political views (Oxford Dictionaries ). Isaiah Berlin (1909-97) argues that there are two different concepts of liberty negative and positive. He states the negative liberty is namely freedom from constraint or interface (Warburton, 2004, p. 232) or in other actors line absence of coercion, barriers, restraint or obstacl... ...rieved 12 2010, 9, from Oxford Dictionaries http//www.oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0315030m_en_gb0315030(n.d.). Retrieved 12 2010, 9, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http//plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty -positive-negative/Berlin, I. (1969). Two Concepts of Liberty. In Four Essays on Liberty. London Oxford University Press.Haddock, B. (2008 ). A History of Political Thought . Cambridge Polity .Replogle, R. (1989). Recovering the Social Contract. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.Rousseau, J. J. (1923). The Social Contract and Discourses translated with an Introduction by G.D. H. Cole . Londan and Toronto J.M Dent and Sons.Shklar, J. (1969). Men and Citizens A test of Rousseaus social theory. Cambridge Cambridge UNiversity Press.Warburton, N. (2004). Philosoph Basic Reading Second Edition . New York Routledge .