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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Individual Freedom and Social Cooperation: Rousseau and a Basic Problem for Moral and Political Philosophy

Abstract

dc:description

This thesis examines Rousseau's attempt to reconcile individual freedom and the need for social cooperation. In his account of human social development, Rousseau describes three stages in which he considers human beings to be free: the state of nature, the primitive family, and the ideal civil society. An examination of the stages brings out a number of factors that are important for discussions of individual freedom. The factors range from the absence of restrictions by others, to self-government, to having options. Each factor has been proclaimed by some philosophers as the essence of social and political freedom. I argue that to adequately capture what is involved with such freedom, the factors must be considered together.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph.D.
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Philosophy
Grantor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Year dc:date
2014

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Lombardi, Louis Guido

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Rights

Language dc:language
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
(UMI)AAI8017974
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/68407

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Base URL
www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Lombardi, Louis Guido. Individual Freedom and Social Cooperation: Rousseau and a Basic Problem for Moral and Political Philosophy. Dissertation thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2142/68407