Rousseau, Fromm, Locke

Here are the major points you should have in your notes for both of these thinkers.

***Remember, do not copy these verbatim into your notebook.  Use them as a guide to add to your notes in your own words!  You cannot use a print out of this on the quiz (nor can you use them if you copied them exactly into your notes!).

Jean Jacques Rousseau

1.  Similarities between humans and animals:

• We have similar needs (food, water, shelter)
• We are treated alike by nature (no one animal is favored over another)
• We all have a sense of self-protection
• We all have thoughts/ideas

2.  Differences between humans and animals:

• Humans are less strong and agile
• Humans have a "better constitution" (means we are more resilient and hardy)
• Humans sample from the instincts of all the other animals (so we can pick and choose what works best for us)
• Humans are "free agents"-- we have a choice to either follow our instincts or not (whereas animals always follow their instincts)
• Humans have more complex ideas:  we make connections where animals do not

3.  Humans have brought many of their problems upon themselves, including:

• Inequality
• Laziness amongst the rich
• Overwork amongst the poor
• Superficial desires
• Problems with digestion (for those who can afford "rich" foods)
• Hunger
• The torment of every day living
• War
• Murder

4.  Natural state of humanity for Rousseau:

• No speech
• No buildings
• No industry
• No war
• We are self-sufficient
• We only work to satisfy our "true needs"
• No progress of intelligence
• No progress of culture (art, music etc.)
• No education
• (For Rousseau, "progress" is not worth all of the problems it causes in #3)

5.  Origin of inequality:

• Inequality came about when people began to gather
• At gatherings, humans would begin to form bonds
• These bonds led people to develop preferences
• Example: people began to judge how "well" others sang and danced
• The judgement is what created the inequality

Erich Fromm

1. Origin of human nature:

• Human nature comes from the "social process" -- our nature develops based on our interactions with other people and our integration into the society in which we live.

2. How human nature has changed:

• We now want fame
• We now notice the beauty of nature
• We now are obsessed with work

3. Human nature is “malleable”

• malleable (definition):  moldable (changeable)
• Fromm means…most of what makes up our nature can change.  HOWEVER, it is not 100% changeable.  There are aspects that do not change, no matter what (our instinct for survival, which involves our need for food, water, shelter)

4. Static adaptation

• Define:  A change you make to adapt to a situation that does not change your personality
• Example:  Eating with a fork and knife rather than chopsticks

5. Dynamic adaptation (In this part, the example is given first, then the definition)

• Define: A change you make to adapt to a situation that changes your personality
• Example: Reacting to an overbearing parent (which may make you resentful and perhaps change you into a more defiant person)

6. Characteristics that differentiate people from each other (some people may have more of one of these traits than another, but this all depends on your interactions with others and the society you live in):

• love
• destructiveness
• submission
• sadism
• desire for power
• detachment
• desire to make yourself seem better than you are
• tendency to want to save money
• enjoyment of sensual pleasure
• fear of sensuality
• THESE ARE FLEXIBLE DURING CHILDHOOD

7. According to Fromm, the main thing that determines how we act is our need for self-preservation or survival:

• In order to stay alive, we need to eat, drink, sleep, and protect ourselves
• In order to do this in our world, we must work
• The type of work is determined by society we live in, and we can’t change this.  (In other words, if you are a teacher, you have certain responsibilities and expectations, you must change yourself to fit these, because otherwise you won't have the money to eat, have home etc.  The changes you need to make to become a teacher could influence your nature)
• The work we do (and the society we live in) determines our  nature or character because need for self-preservation/survival forces us to accept the conditions we live in.

8. Human beings need community

• Because…we need to feel connected and not alone.  We all have a need to feel as if we belong.

9. Summary of overall argument:  Human nature is shaped by

• Our need for…survival (basic instincts that do NOT change)
• Our need for…community (which can change our nature since we need to submit to the rules of the community we live in, and that may result in "dynamic adaptation")

John Locke:

1. The metaphor Locke uses is that our mind is a blank piece of paper

• Locke means…that when we are born, we have no personality or nature at all.  We are a blank slate that can be written upon.

2. Our character ultimately comes from: experience.