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    Carmelics

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Rousseau explicitly argues in Book II that citizens must be capable of distinguishing the general will from the will of all, requiring civic virtue.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Rousseau never clearly defines what makes a will 'general' versus aggregate, making the distinction arguably incoherent rather than requiring virtue to perceive it.
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    • 2.Demanding civic virtue as a prerequisite undermines Rousseau's egalitarian claims, since virtue develops unequally and excludes the less virtuous from political participation.
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    • 3.The empirical claim that citizens can reliably distinguish these wills through virtue training lacks evidence; Rousseau provides no mechanism explaining how this occurs.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Rousseau explicitly contrasts 'general will' and 'will of all' in Social Contract II, establishing this distinction as central to his theory.
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    • 2.Without civic virtue enabling citizens to transcend private interests, the general will collapses into aggregated self-interest, defeating Rousseau's entire project.
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    • 3.Rousseau's emphasis on moral transformation through the social contract presupposes citizens must develop capacities to distinguish common good from personal preference.
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