Synopsis

Discourse on the Origin of Inequality is a work written by author Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Originally written in the mid-18th century, it is an attempt to answer the question, ""What is the origin of inequality among men, and is it authorized by natural law?" as a part of a competition by the Académie de Dijon. The Discourse on the Origin of Inequality is a key work on the differences among men and was opposite of Thomas Hobbes' view that pre-civilized man was in a state of all against all warfare, but rather Rousseau believed that man in a natural state is more accurately described as a noble savage. This is an important work for those interested in the works and beliefs of both Jean-Jacques Rousseau as well as his contemporary Thomas Hobbes.

Biography

Franklin Philip is the prize-winning translator of numerous French texts. Patrick Coleman is the author of Rousseau's Political Imagination (1984).