Rethinking the paradox of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's sexual politics
Author | : Tamela Ice |
Publisher | : ProQuest |
Total Pages | : 152 |
Release | : 2003 |
ISBN-10 | : 0549500936 |
ISBN-13 | : 9780549500933 |
Rating | : 4/5 (36 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Jean-Jacques Rousseau is one of the most important thinkers on the topics of social freedom and inequality, and his views of these matters are typically taken to be progressive. However, Rousseau's views on women sit in tension with his philosophy of freedom and equality. On the one hand, Rousseau argues that women are naturally equal to men. On the other hand, he sees women not as potential citizens but as the servants of men. This presents the interpreter of Rousseau with something of a paradox: Rousseau is the philosopher of freedom for men and yet the philosopher of servitude for women. I will argue in this thesis that there is no paradox here if we see Rousseau as interested only in the freedom and equality of men. I shall argue thatwomen are, for Rousseau, the means to an end.