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A key difference between the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other Enlightenment thinkers was?

1) Rousseau believed that people were born with natural rights.
2) Rousseau believed that people in a state of nature were selfish and awful and needed government to force them to be civil.
3) Rousseau believed that the rights of an individual were supreme and could never be infringed upon.
4) Rousseau believed that the peace and prosperity of a community could be more important than the individual rights of any single member of the community.

User Jamesamuir
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Final answer:

Rousseau's philosophy differed from other Enlightenment thinkers by emphasizing the peace and prosperity of the community over individual rights, suggesting that the well-being of the collective could sometimes take precedence over individual freedoms.

Step-by-step explanation:

A key difference between the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other Enlightenment thinkers was Rousseau's belief that in a state of nature people were not essentially selfish and awful but were corrupted by the complexities of society and institutions. Rousseau argued for a form of government based on the general will of the people, advocating that the prosperity and peace of the community could outweigh the rights of individuals if those rights harmed the common good. Thus, the correct answer is 4) Rousseau believed that the peace and prosperity of a community could be more important than the individual rights of any single member of the community.

Rousseau differed from thinkers like John Locke, who believed that natural rights such as life, liberty, and property were inherent and should not be infringed upon by governments. Rousseau's social contract theory was more focused on the collective social bond and the idea that true freedom can only exist when individuals act with the community's best interests in mind.

User Doctrey
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