A Comparison of Hobbes, Rousse

Hobbes’ state of war is the basis for his philosophical discourse on human nature. Where Rousseau says that man is compassionate and good to others in his nature, Hobbes argues that man is only out for himself. When the point comes where two men want the same thing, they become enemies of each other. Since men often want the same things, they will try to take whatever they can get from each other. Therefore, any …

…in a different way: Kant just says that once enlightened, a person is whole, and is able to stand on his own. It may be a safe statement to say that not only does Rousseau support Kant’s idea of enlightenment, but that he also has a very similar idea stated differently. Both are based on maturity of knowing oneself, one’s beliefs, and using reason as the tool in which to gain this knowledge.