The value of sociability in Rousseau, Hegel, and Nietzsche

2021-5
Karatekeli, Emre
This thesis investigates the political philosophies of Rousseau, Hegel, and Nietzsche, as regards the relation between sociability and freedom. Firstly, I argue that Rousseau’s fundamental view undergoes a drastic shift in that while in the Second Discourse he regards the human being as essentially individualistic, in the Social Contract he dismisses egoism and argues for the establishment of sociability in the name of general will to materialise human freedom. Secondly, I discuss how Hegel proves the necessity of sociability in the dialectic of master-slave in the Phenomenology of Spirit. In the Philosophy of Right, Hegel gives this necessity a concrete form by establishing the organic relation between individualism and sociability. I argue that, Hegel’s insistence on the reciprocality of these two notions notwithstanding, he tends to favour the latter over the former. Hence, the necessity of looking at Nietzsche’s individualistic and elitist political thought arises. I seek to demonstrate that although Nietzsche’s view on its own might be too radical and thus impracticable for the problems of modern society, we are in need of his trenchant criticism of society’s detrimental effects on the rich creativity of individualism.

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Citation Formats
E. Karatekeli, “The value of sociability in Rousseau, Hegel, and Nietzsche,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2021.