Rousseau

1 Pages 367 Words

Rousseau’s claim that desires, emotions, and morals are a product of culture is correct. There is no such thing as human nature; therefore, society is necessary for a civil life. This is so because only society can inculcate values and behaviors required for civil existence.
The primitive man is self-centered, lazy, and solitary. Innately, instinct and self-improvement lay dormant in the primordial man. Potential to reason and develop language evolve due to the human’s association with other beings such as family. In relationships, humans learn valued emotions and behaviors that become their culture. The variety of culture on Earth indicates that each one was individually developed. This development is attributed to the different qualities that were uplifted by the people within each culture.
According to Rousseau, the first humans were indifferent to the opinions of others and maintained a level of healthy narcissism. In this state, the free humans were able to survive off of two instincts: self-preservation and compassion. Without family, a precursor to society, man would still live off of two instincts. As family became more important, man was able to develop the institution of society and comply with its unique sanctions and norms. Human behavior is socially established patterns adopted from society, thus ruling out the theory of a universally intrinsic human nature.
Society has become a needed function in the lives of people. When comparing cultures of the United States and China, the social directions of these societies are different. The Unites States uplifts competition and individualism; on the other hand, China uplifts harmony and collectivism. Neither culture is considered better than the other, because although they are different they share the quality of civilization. The societies in both of these countries determine the quality of life the citizens will live. The influence of society ramifies throughout cultur...