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And accordingly Rousseau emphasized that because of this it became clear to all men that there were advantages to seeming to be what one actually wasn’t. Because of this difference in appearing to be what one was not, in due course of time this led to the establishment of justice. So how does one create new forces by merely uniting and directing those, which already exist? Rousseau also questioned, “since each man’s force and liberty are the primary instruments of his maintenance, how is he going to engage them without hurting himself and without neglecting the care he owes himself (Rousseau 147-148)?” Initially, what must happen is, in an act of association each individual must alienate himself, together with all of his rights, to the entire community in which serves a common will. More importantly Rousseau explains that: “Since the alienation is made without reservation, the union is as perfect as possible, and no associate has anything further to demand…[and] in giving himself to all, each person gives himself to no one. And since there is no associate over whom he does not acquire the same right that he would grant others over himself, he gains the equivalent of everything he loses, along with the greater amount of force to preserve what he has (Rousseau 148).” The Creation of this new union that is called a “state” by its members when it acts passively and on the other hand when it is active the union is known as a sovereign. Consequently, justice rather than being mistaken for a ‘new force,’ is really just a transformative redirection of already existing forces. Thus, intelligent men seeing the benefit of the combination of their strengths to make the most of the weak seduced the powerless into allowing them to be protected by the strong, when they had nothing to be protected against, for the sake of harmony among them all. Previously, I explained how new forces are not created but nevertheless are produced by simply uniting and directing existing forces. This claim can be associated with Rousseau’s later statement that the “passage from the state of nature to the civil state produces quite a remarkable change in man, for it substitutes justice for instinct (Rousseau 150).” This significant change takes place in mans behavior and gives his actions an ethical quality they previously lacked. As far as replacing justice for instinct, because of this creation of a new union Rousseau asserts that, “man finds himself forced to act upon other principles and he also finds himself more active in applying his reason before listening to his preferences (Rousseau 151).” Based on this explanation alone, it becomes evident that justice takes the place of instinct, for the sole reason that when a man is a component of a civil state that is directed by a general will, he is then forced like Rousseau claimed, to be relevant and use motive other than just choosing what he is partial or most fond of. Once more, because of man’s development of a union that is directed by the general will, man went through a truly revolutionizing process starting from the state of nature and finally progressing to the civil state. Rousseau at the end of chapter VIII “On the Civil State,” writes out a balance sheet showing what man gains as well what man loses through the social contract. What man loses by the social contract is his natural liberty and an unlimited right to everything he tries to get and succeeds in getting; what he gains is civil liberty and the proprietorship of all he possesses. If we are to avoid mistake in weighing one against the other, we must clearly distinguish natural liberty, which is bounded only by the strength of the individual, from civil liberty, which is limited by the general will; and possession, which is merely the effect of force or the right of the first occupier, from property, which can be founded only on a positive title. Additionally, Man acquires in the civil state, moral liberty, which alone makes him truly master of himself; for the mere impulse of appetite is slavery, while obedience to a law which we prescribe to ourselves is liberty(Rousseau 151). Bibliography: Word Count: 773
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