''Amour de soi'' (; ) is a concept in the philosophy of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

that refers to the kind of

self-love Self-love, defined as "love of self" or "regard for one's own happiness or advantage", has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness, synonymous with amour-propre, conceitedness, ...

that humans share with brute animals and predates the appearance of society.

Concept

Rousseau maintained in '' Emile'' that ''amour de soi'' is the source of human passion as well as the origin and the principle of all the other desires. It is associated with the notion of "self-preservation" as a natural sentiment that drives every animal to watch over its own survival. The philosopher stated that this type of love is prominent at the stage where our faculties are not developed, hence considered still one of a brute. This concept forms part of Rousseau's argument that the gulf between humans and the rest of animal creation does not exist. Acts committed out of ''amour de soi'' tend to be for individual well-being. It is considered "always good and always in conformity with order" for it is not malicious because ''amour de soi'' as self-love does not involve pursuing one's self-interest at the expense of others. One is justified in ignoring the well-being of others if his well-being is materially threatened. The sentiment does not compare oneself with others but is concerned solely with regarding oneself as an absolute and valuable existence. It is related to an awareness of one's future and can restrain the present impulse. Rousseau contrasts it with '' amour-propre'', that kind of self-love, found in

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

' philosophy, in which one's opinion of oneself is dependent on what other people think and which arises only with society. Rousseau suggested that ''amour de soi'' was lost during the transition from the pre-societal condition to society, but it can be restored by the use of "good" institutions created with the

social contract In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is a theory or model that originated during the Age of Enlightenment and usually, although not always, concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Social ...

. This renewed passage from the

state of nature The state of nature, in moral and political philosophy, religion, social contract theories and international law, is the hypothetical life of people before societies came into existence. Philosophers of the state of nature theory deduce that the ...

to the civilized state would bring man to favor

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

instead of

instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...

.Robert Derathé, ''Jean-Jacques Rousseau et la science politique de son temps'', Paris, Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 1995, pp. 135-141.

References

Concepts in the philosophy of mind Self Jean-Jacques Rousseau Philosophy of love {{philo-stub

Concept

See also

References