Rousseau & Original Sin

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Melchior_1

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Rousseau was a proponent of essentially saying that; “humans who are without a social contract have no morality/concept of good and evil and as such, will act in their own self interest but cannot do so maliciously”.

Basically, if in a vacuum, people will help themselves without harming others.

My question; is this compatible with original sin? Is original sin itself a social contract?
 
Melchior said:
Rousseau was a proponent of essentially saying that; “humans who are without a social contract have no morality/concept of good and evil and as such, will act in their own self interest but cannot do so maliciously”.

Basically, if in a vacuum, people will help themselves without harming others.

My question; is this compatible with original sin?
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Careful, you have to read Rousseau in context. You can’t just throw a line out there and draw all kinds of conclusions from it.
 
My understanding is that Rousseau’s understanding of humanity is/was entirely incompatible with the Catholic Church. He had a good deal of ire for the institution in his day, and was widely known for it.

You don’t have to dig this out of individual quotes, you only have to read his fiction. As far as I’m concerned, Rousseau is the ultimate author of our current Spirit of the Age. His ideas sound so pleasant and life-affirming… until you trace them out to their logical conclusions. And then they birth a myriad of demonic horrors. Don’t believe me? Look at the French Revolution. THAT was Rousseau’s legacy, and humanity is still paying for it.
 
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