So long as we are bounded by the chains of society we are not living

[Soren333]

The famous quote by the lord himself, Rousseau.

"Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains."

"All ran headlong to their chains, in hopes of securing their liberty."

According to Rousseau the settlement of society has robbed us of our freedom. So long as we are dependent on the government and laws, superiors (our bosses to secure our jobs) and society in general we are not free.

Rousseau believed that human flourishing is achieve from "living in oneself", through the life of the solitary individual. Society has robbed us from this.

Discuss

 

[CheesecakeCuber]

Couldn't we be trapped in our own inferiority and single-minded ideas if we lead a solitary life? Interactions in society can "free" us from the chains of our own thought.

 

[Soren333]

Couldn't we be trapped in our own inferiority and single-minded ideas if we lead a solitary life? Interactions in society can "free" us from the chains of our own thought.

Interesting point you make there.

Here we need to refine and make better use of the term "freedom".

Unless we can define freedom we will only exchange it's meaning in a loose manner.

Perhaps we can be trapped in our own thoughts, perhaps society frees us from this entrapment. But the question still remains, does society inhibit our further freedom?

 

[5BLD]

I'd say you learn a lot about yourself in the interaction with other people. As other people will live their life in society it would be impractical to try to interact with people without taking part in "society".

Having said that, oftentimes I dream of living on my own producing my own stuff. I suppose it seems very attractive until you start thinking of how unpractical this would be.

 

[applemobile]

Having said that, oftentimes I dream of living on my own producing my own stuff. I suppose it seems very attractive until you start thinking of how unpractical this would be.

Living on your own and shopping purely on the internet is a far more achievable (read: easy) realisation of the dream. I did it for a good 6 months un-knowingly, i was pretty malnourished at the time.

 

[Ross The Boss]

Im going to have to disagree with good old Rousseau on this one. Humans have evolved as pack (social) animals so we are most naturally inclined to interact with others in our pack (society). When a pack animal is isolated, it becomes saddened, distressed, scared, etc... these emotions are likely motivating factors that cause the animal to attempt to find others of its kind. If a pack animal does not experience these emotions or is happier on its own, it is at a higher risk of being eaten, starving, etc... This anti-social animal is less likely to mate and may not pass on the genes that cause it to be anti-social; Darwinism.
However, due to human consciousness/intellect, we are able to transcend many aspects of natural selection allowing solitary individuals to survive unimpeded. And while 'loners' may be on equal footing with socialites, they are the minority. And it would be silly to expect the social majority to live by the philosophical teachings of the greatly outnumbered loner when it comes to topics such as this.
Now my own opinion is that expanding your intellectual horizons, getting to know you self, developing well thought out opinions, and other types of personal growth are very important aspects of modern life. But being able to interact with others is also necessary. If you ask me, i'd say that personal growth allows you to get more enjoyment out of social activities and interacting with others provides excellent opportunities for reflection of self and expansion of knowledge. Dont get me wrong, I dont necessarily think that other people are all that great (im actually a bit of a misanthropist) but i can apreciate the value of having friends and loved ones and idols.
My reason for thinking this is that i was a far more happy, productive person once i started to actually use my intellect instead of just going through the motions of life. and i became incredibly depressed and unproductive when i strayed too far into the cave of my own mind and became lost.

pheww. i hope this makes sense...