ABSTRACT
Maninhisoriginalstateofnatureischaracterizedb y " a m o u r d e s o i " and" c o m m i s e r a t i o n . " Hisloveofselfisafeelingrooted inhimbynature,causinghimtomaintainhisindividuality. Sinceatfirsthehardlyevercomesintoconflictwithotherindividuals,thisfeelingcertainlydoesnotgiverisetohateandenvy. Moreover" c o m m i s e r a t i o n , " oran"innatereluctancetosee othersofhisownkindsuffer"helpstopreservethespecies.Exceptunderthegreatestpressure,nomaninthisstateofnature wouldcausehisfellowmentosuffer."Faistonbienavecle moindremald'autruipossible"istheunwrittenmaximofthis condition.Bothreasonandimaginationarestilltotallyundeveloped,anditisonlythis"freedom"fromblindnaturalimpulse,or-asRousseaualsoputsit-this" p e r f e c t i b i l i t e , " thatdistinguishesprimitivemanfromtheanimals.Manistheanimal capableofdevelopmentandmodification.Thereinlieshisgreatestadvantage,andatthesametimehisgreatestdanger,and Rousseau'sconcernisaboveallwiththelatter.
