Can society make us free again?

Send us Fan Mail If society creates dependence and inequality, can political association also make us free? In the second episode of our Rousseau series, Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson move from the Discourse on Inequality (1755) to The Social Contract (1762). We distinguish natural differences from inequalities sustained by convention and institutions, consider pity and perfectibility, and explore the tension between amour de soi and amour-propre. From agriculture and property to the general will, the conversation asks how citizens might replace dependence on other people with laws they prescribe together. Along the way, we revisit Hobbes, Diderot and Rousseau's attachment to Geneva, consider Jack's comparison with Kant, and debate the troubling claim that a citizen can be "forced to be free". Episode 3 turns to education, Émile and Julie. Hosted by Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson. CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome and introduction 00:28 Recap: dependence and Geneva 00:53 Can society make us free again? 01:09 Two contracts and the key dates 02:39 Natural and moral inequality 06:53 Compassion, pity and Hobbes 10:23 Perfectibility 11:51 Amour de soi and amour-propre 12:54 Agriculture, metallurgy and property 15:20 Born free, everywhere in chains 16:03 Diderot at Vincennes 17:06 The general will 19:01 Geneva and the dignity of man 20:06 Rousseau and Kant 21:11 Forced to be free? 24:15 Next episode and farewell READ AND DISCUSS Beyond the Text: https://beyondthetext.co.uk The Intellectual Historian: https://theintellectualhistorian.com Join the discussion: https://thehistoryofideasclub.co.uk FREE READING Rousseau, The Social Contract and Discourses, translated by G. D. H. Cole: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46333 Read the Discourse on Inequality, especially Part II, and The Social Contract, Book I, chapters 1, 6, 7 and 8. EPISODE 1 Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_F2u40m6vQ Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2238237/episodes/19951622 MUSIC Red Planet, "Queens Arrival" (TakeTones), the programme's original theme. ARTWORK Rousseau, Du contrat social (1762), Bibliothèque nationale de France / Gallica. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Du_contrat_social_Rousseau_Jean-Jacques.jpg Support the show