Study On Rousseau’s Public Intention Thought In Social Contract Theory

Public intention is the dome stone in Rousseau’s "moral temple" in the theory of social contract,and it is an important entrance for people to understand his democratic political theory.But in order to overcome selfishness and pursue public will,it introduced the common good which originated from the lack of private environment into social contract and sovereignty,put forward the concept of public will with uncertainty to guarantee the emergence,formation and Realization of public will,and designed the power-responsibility balance mechanism and the power-balance mechanism which needed many harsh conditions,so that its theory itself was full of enormity.Contradictions and tensions make it possible for both the "Left" and the "Right" to find the basis to support their own theories.This article is also through sorting out the two main points of view that Rousseau’s public will is the source of the "tyranny of the majority" and the source of democracy and freedom,and analyzing their causes.In view of the focus of the controversy and the important concepts,it clarifies them by returning to Rousseau himself and his works,and further finds out the focus and essence behind the controversy caused by Rousseau’s public will.The connotation of public will lacks defining standard,defensive mechanism of public will lacks powerful guarantee,and the realization of public will lacks the standard of restriction of state power.While making objective analysis and evaluation of Rousseau’s public intention on the whole,the paper concludes that the way to grasp Rousseau’s public intention correctly is to return to the original book to grasp its integrity;to break the threshold of knowledge and examine it from the perspective of philosophy and human history;Look at it from the perspective of philosophy and human history;avoid referring only to practical utility and insist on dividing it into two parts.It also analyses its theoretical significance in order to have reference value for the future study of Rousseau’s public will and his political and philosophical thoughts.