Exploring the Contrasting Philosophies of Locke and Rousseau on Reason

This essay provides a comparative analysis of the philosophical viewpoints of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, focusing on their contrasting perspectives on the roles of reason, faith, and humanity in shaping society. Locke, a proponent of reason, argued for its supremacy over faith in achieving credible conclusions and societal progress, while acknowledging faith's relevance in addressing certain phenomena. Rousseau, though appreciating reason, emphasized the importance of humanity, arguing that over-reliance on reason had led to inequalities and advocating for virtues like kindness and love to foster peaceful and just societies. The essay explores their ideas, highlighting their influence on modern thought and their differing approaches to achieving a better world, with Locke prioritizing reason and Rousseau prioritizing humanity.

Running head: JOHN LOCKE AND JEAN-JACQUES ROSSEAU 1
John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rosseau
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

JOHN LOCKE AND JEAN-JACQUES ROSSEAU 2
John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rosseau
Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge (Schofield, 2015).
Most of the modern developments could be attributed to the work that started with
philosophers. One of the main milestones in philosophy was the philosophical discussion on
reason. The topic of philosophical reasoning has been addressed by several philosophers.
These include John Locke and Jean-Jacque Rosseau. Although they were both deists, they
had different views on the role of reason in improving human life. Locke argued that reason
is supreme to faith. Rosseau, on the other hand, acknowledged that reason was good but
could not surpass humanity. The two philosophers represent the changing role of reason in
the 18th and 19th centuries. This will be the primary focus of this assignment.
John Locke
Locke was both a philosopher and a medical researcher from Britain. Locke claimed
that all individuals are naturally equal (Edwards, 2016). He used religious reasoning to
support this. He argued that faith refers to God’s revelation. This means that any person who
uses faith waits for a confirmation from God. For faith to work, the person in question must
be sure that they are surely convicted by God. He contrasted faith to reason. He defined
reason as the certainty or probability that is derived from natural factors. This means that a
person who is using reason is more likely to achieve their outcome compared to the one who
is depending on faith. It is worth noting that most people in Britain were Christians at the
time. He believed in God and this influenced his work.
John Locke advocated for use of philosophical reasoning. This is because reason
gives us a higher level of certainty when compared to faith (Locke, 2018). Let us take an
example. Having faith alone cannot help one have some food for supper.. However, reason
would guide the person to go and fetch food material from the market, prepare it and have it

JOHN LOCKE AND JEAN-JACQUES ROSSEAU 3
for supper. Locke concluded confidently that reason surpasses faith. This is because
appropriate reasoning would result in credible conclusions (Schouls, 2018). His advocacy for
reason was influential and contributed to the rise of modern science. Modern science uses
reason to identify facts and discriminate these from myths. In the modern days, reason
surpasses faith. It can be concluded that the argument of John Locke concerning faith had far-
reaching effects. Despite appreciating that reason was the main basis for deriving facts, he
observed that some phenomenon could be addressed better by using faith and not reason. For
instance, when trying to answer whether the dead shall be resurrected or not, then it is better
to apply faith.
Jean-Jacques Rosseau
Rosseau was a French philosopher of the 18th century. He came after Locke. Although
a deist, he disagreed with Locke when it comes to the issue of philosophical reasoning. He
argued that humanity surpasses reason (Qvortrup, 2018). Employing reason had only led to
negative repercussions such as inequality and wars. He argued that if the world was to be
reformed so that it becomes a better place for people to live in, then pragmatic rationalism
was not enough (Cawthon, 2017). He did not disregard the importance of reason. His main
argument was that these were not enough to create a society free of chaos and inequalities.
According to Rosseau, the only way to ensure that human beings live well and harmoniously
was to result in the state of full humanity. If people were to appreciate that humanity exists,
then they would try to maximize it (Cornell, 2016). With maximization of humanity, then the
world would become better than it was at the moment.
Rosseau, therefore, came up with some change in the role of reason. His ideas were
greatly influenced and motivated by religion. He argued that every person is made in the
image of God (Cawthon, 2017). God is good and therefore, we have the capability/ potential

JOHN LOCKE AND JEAN-JACQUES ROSSEAU 4
of being good. The term being good is analogous to being human. He further argued that
when reason is compared to humanity, the later is divine. He observed that by using reason
alone, the rich would ensure that they influence the authority in a manner that protects their
interests (Robinson, 2017). This is unfair as it creates a situation of great inequalities and
wealth gaps. Selfishness was the source of all this. If people could become more human, then
such inequalities would not exist for people would be kind towards one another. He added
that the best way to ensure people appreciate humanity was to teach individuals about it from
a young age.
Conclusion
Locke argues that reason is superior to faith. He represents faith as the most vital
ingredient in achieving positive change in society. This is because philosophical reasoning
leads credible conclusions. He was a deist who although appreciated faith, did not regard it as
highly as he regarded reason. Although this is the case, he appreciates that some questions/
phenomenon can best be described through the application of faith. These include the
question of whether the dead shall be resurrected. Rosseau came after Locke. He appreciated
that reason was important if any meaningful positive changes were to be achieved in society.
While appreciating this, he argued that overemphasizing about reason has had more negative
effects than positive ones. Some of the negative effects were widespread inequalities. For
instance, there existed a huge gap between the rich and the poor. This is because the rich
ensured that they influenced the authorities to protect their interest. To ensure that these ills
are eliminated, it is important to employ humanity rather than reason alone. Humanity refers
to the aspect of being kind and loving. With these virtues, human beings would live well with
one another. Disputes would be settled in an amicable manner and every person would
endeavour to maintain peace. Due to this, Rosseau found humanity to be more important than

JOHN LOCKE AND JEAN-JACQUES ROSSEAU 5
philosophical reasoning. He viewed humanity as the most important aspect of achieving
peaceful and just societies. People would enjoy living in such societies.

JOHN LOCKE AND JEAN-JACQUES ROSSEAU 6
References
Cawthon, D. (2017). Rousseau on Leadership: Guiding the Wills of Men: Philosophical
Foundations of Leadership (pp. 63-74). Routledge.
Cornell, D. (2016). The philosophy of the limit. Routledge.
Edwards, R. B. (2016). Reason and religion: an introduction to the philosophy of religion.
Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Locke, J. (2018). The John Locke Collection. Charles River Editors.
Qvortrup, M. (2018). The political philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The impossibility
of reason. Routledge.
Robinson, J. (2017). Economic philosophy. Routledge.
Schofield, R. E. (2015). Mechanism and materialism: British natural philosophy in an age of
reason. Princeton University Press.
Schouls, P. A. (2018). Reasoned freedom: John Locke and enlightenment. Cornell University
Press.