Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his predecessor, Thomas Hobbes, both address the question of language while constructing a concept of the state of nature and the origin of human society, a mental exercise concept favored by 17th and 18th century philosophers like them. The two agree that language elevates – or, perhaps more appropriately as far as Rousseau is concerned, separates – man from beast and facilitates man's exit from the state of nature. Their different conceptions of the state of nature and those of civil society in turn reflect their divergent judgments on the value and consequences of language. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Thomas Hobbes, in his Leviathan, describes the natural state of man in constant conflict and misery, that "during the time when men live without a common power to hold them all in subjection, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war, as is that of every man, against every man... in which men live [in] continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor , nasty, brutish, and short" (Hobbes, 84). An underlying premise of Thomas Hobbes's notion of the state of nature is the right of nature, "which writers commonly call jus naturale...the liberty every man has to use his own power, as he will, for the preservation of his own life". own nature" (Hobbes, 86). According to Hobbes, this jus naturale will lead to the creation of a community "to defend it from the invasion of strangers and from mutual injury" (Hobbes, 114). The state is created by a covenant “when a multitude of men agree… each with each, that to any man, or assembly of men, the right of presenting the person of all shall be given by the majority” (Hobbes 115). Only then will man be able to live in peace. Interestingly, Hobbes's discussion of language precedes his discussion of the state of nature in Leviathan. In chapter 4 of Book I, a chapter entitled "Of Discourse," Hobbes defines speech as "consisting of names or appellations, and their connection" (Hobbes, 20), and cites the four principal uses of speech: first, "to transfer our mental speech into verbal", secondly, "to show to others that knowledge which we have achieved", thirdly, "to make known to others our wills and purposes, so that we may have mutual help" and finally, "playing with our words, for pleasure or ornament" (Hobbes,21). According to Hobbes, the word was first given to humanity by God, who "instructed Adam how to name the creatures he presented before his eyes", thus first establishing "the names and their connection". For these reasons, Hobbes exalts the word as "the noblest and most advantageous invention of all others... without which, among men, there would have been no state, no society, no contract, no peace, no more than among lions, bears, and wolves" (Hobbes, 20). With communication the possibility of mutual understanding between men arises, and therefore only with the word can men escape from the state of nature. In addition to the critical capacity for communication provided by language, Hobbes also proposes a more questionable function of language in its ideal state. According to Hobbes, truth and falsity consist in affirming or denying the connection between two names, and therefore "where there is no word, there is neither truth nor falsity" (Hobbes, 23). Furthermore, it calls into question the entire foundation of knowledge and philosophy. Hobbes argues that we cannot rely on nature to reveal true reality because that is the only way we can experience theworld is through our senses, therefore "although the nature of what we conceive is the same; yet the diversity of our reception of it, in respect of the different constitutions of the body and the prejudices of opinion give to everything a nuance of our different passions" (Hobbes, 27). Instead, Hobbes suggests the establishment of the first definitions by the sovereign, on which all members of society must agree. All the resulting conclusions arise from logical syllogisms based on these first principles. Therefore, Hobbes provides a deductive basis for knowledge, just as in geometry, which Hobbes praises as "the only science which it has pleased God hitherto to bestow upon mankind" (Hobbes, 23) where all have accepted certain definitions and principles of basis, after which the geometric truths logically follow. When philosophical reasoning is thus reduced to mathematics, all truths and knowledge derived from these first accepted definitions become irrefutable, in the same way that geometric proofs are. In this way, Hobbes boldly bases the entire nature of truth and epistemology on language, a human construct. Jean-Jacques Rousseau sets out in his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality an exhaustive diatribe against modern society and the entire history of human progress. He begins by describing the state of man before his entry into society, a conception commonly considered diametrically opposed to that of Hobbes. According to Rousseau, "the wild man" is in an idyllic and peaceful state, produced in part by his ignorance and simplicity of mind. Rousseau argues that because wild man is naturally asocial and because there are unlimited natural resources, wild man remains largely solitary and has very little contact with others, thus very little chance of conflict, very contrary to Hobbes's idea of perpetual state of war in nature. Furthermore, Rousseau believes that two natural laws, existing before reason, govern the interaction between humans in the state of nature: self-preservation and piety. The first is already familiar to us, but the second suggests a softer view of human nature than Hobbes's. Rousseau describes pity as “a natural repugnance to seeing any sentient being, especially our fellow human beings, die or suffer” (Rousseau, 35). Piety, which moderates self-preservation, “contributes to the mutual preservation of the entire species…takes the place of laws, customs, and virtue” (Rousseau 55). So the state of nature was harmonious, even if crude and primitive. Indeed, man in Rousseau's state of nature does not differ much from animals. However, man's peculiar faculties are sufficient to push him out of the state of nature. First, while animals act by instinct, humans act by choice. Man's capacity for choice makes him less susceptible to nature than other animals might be. Even more importantly, Rousseau attributes to man the faculty of self-perfection, the ability to adapt, to change depending on his environment. He argues that precisely this perfectibility of man is the source of his fall from the state of nature. One aspect of man's perfectibility is the development of language. Here Rousseau highlights an apparent paradox regarding the origin of language: "if in fact men needed the word to learn to think, they needed even more to know how to think to discover the art of speaking" (Rousseau, 49). ). Instead of addressing this problem, however, Rousseau adds another paradox: the vocal articulations of things must be reached by "unanimous consensus" but language is necessary to express consensus, therefore "the word seems to have beennecessary to establish the use of discourse” (Rousseau, 50). Whatever the origins, Rousseau argues that language was necessary to develop abstract reasoning and that "general ideas can only be introduced into the mind with the help of words" (Rousseau, 50). Rousseau offers the simple example of the tree: without language man cannot conceive the general idea of ​​a tree, he can only imagine a particular tree, with a certain height, color, etc. gives them names. Natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, caused man to associate more and more with each other, and language was further developed. Man created tools and built huts, allowing for the concept of family. Eventually, as man became more social, natural piety was replaced by amor propre: "People became accustomed to gathering in front of their huts... singing and dancing... became entertainment or rather the employment of idle men and women.... Everyone began to look at others and want to be looked at, and public esteem had a value" (Rousseau 64). With the construction of homes, the beginning of agriculture, which Rousseau argues is only possible with human communication, and the beginning of interdependence, the notion of property evolved and natural equality disappeared. The second part of Rousseau's Discourse begins like this: "the first who, after having fenced off some land, took it into his head to say that this is mine and found people naive enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society" (Rousseau, 60). Both the physical act of uttering the words this is mine and even the abstract idea of ​​possession are only possible with language. Property and the division of labor made men morally unequal, and the rich and powerful, wanting to protect their property, devised "specious reasons to lead [the weak] to their objective" (Rousseau, 69). powerful instituted "rules of justice and peace to which all will be obliged to conform" which simply reinforce inequality, and "such was... the origin of society and laws, which gave new constraints to the weak and new strengths to the rich , irremediably destroyed natural freedom, established forever the right of property and inequality, transformed skilful usurpation into an irrevocable right and, for the profit of a few ambitious people, now subjected the entire human race to work, servitude and misery” (Rousseau, 70 ). Both Hobbes and Rousseau advance, to some extent, the idea that language constructs reality. Hobbes, truth itself is an artificial and human construct based only on language who decides on definitions and first principles, acts only to eliminate dissent, and his judgments, although arbitrary, cannot be contested. This absolute power of the sovereign to decide how people should think and what they should know is comparable to fascism. However, Hobbes believes that fear of the sovereign is far preferable to fear of one another and that anything is better than the state of nature. For Rousseau, language also has the ability to construct reality. According to him, only with the knowledge of words such as "love", "jealousy" and "possession" can these concepts arise, and therefore reality as we have it is limited and dependent on the names and words we have invented. so far, a rather difficult idea to understand or believe. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Hobbes and Rousseau both explore the dichotomy between nature and culture, and both identify language as a key element of culture. Their notions of language, however, depend on their conception of.