## Reveries of the Solitary Walker 🔹 *parent* [[⧋ Philosophy|Philosophy]] ▫️ *related* [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], [[References/Highlights/Reveries of the Solitary Walker|Book Highlights]], [[French Revolution]] ### Overview This book could be seen essentially like memoirs or reflections [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] had about the meaning of his life before he died. Though he definitely seems kind-hearted and genuine, he worried quite a bit with how people viewed him, though historically he seems to have been very wrong in believing himself condemned. He reflects on the interplay betwen "love of self" (self-preservation) and "self-love" (ego, pride), and why it's important to distinguish these things. He also ruminates on why people treat one another badly or take advantage of one another. At heart believing that people are essentially good, but are often motivated to do bad because of the percieved expectations society impresses upon them. For Rousseau, he has been allowed to lead his best life because he has worked to focus on what he loves, on the beauty of nature and his curiosity of his surroundings, instead of being mired in blame or defense of self. ### Chapter 1 On the difference between "love of self" and "self-love": > “In particular he sees the natural instinct for self-preservation or love of self (amour de soi) being transformed into the competitive, self-regarding spirit which he calls amour-propre and which I have translated here as ‘self-love’. Among other things this theory provided an explanation for the vanity and extreme self-consciousness which he felt in himself, allowing him to believe that these were not his real self, but a social deformation of it.” ### Chapter 8 Reflecting on public opinion, or how one views oneself through the lens of other people. > “When I used to protest so fiercely against public opinion, I was still its slave without realizing it. We want to be respected by those whom we respect, and as long as I thought well of men, or at least of certain men, I could not remain indifferent to their opinion of me. I saw that the judgements of the public are often fair, but I did not see that this very fairness is often the work of chance, that the criteria on which men base their opinions are merely the fruit of their passions or of the prejudices which spring from these passions, and that even when they judge correctly, this often has an unjust cause, as when they pretend to honour the merits of a successful man not out of fairness, but to give themselves an appearance of impartiality, while they are quite prepared to slander this same person in other ways.” He talks about how when we are unsure of larger circumstances, we're quick to believe in conspiracies — that people are out to get us. Often, especially when we're in a situation of our own making (a gambler losing), it's easier to point fingers at others and claim innocence. However, a wise person acts differently. They may feel the pain of misfortune, but in focusing on it alone, rather than trying to make sense of some greater cause and not taking it personally, they're able to recover more readily. In a sense, bad things happen to us all but the greater meaning is beyond our understanding and not worth wasting time to uncover. > “I realized that, as all its causes and operations were unknown and incomprehensible to me, I should ignore them completely, that I should regard all the details of my fate as the workings of mere necessity, in which I should not seek to find any intention, purpose, or moral cause, that I must submit to it without argument or resistance since these were useless, that since all that was left to me on earth was to regard myself as a purely passive being, I should not waste the strength I needed to endure my fate in trying to fight against it. This was what I told myself. My reason and my heart assented, yet I could feel that my heart was not entirely satisfied. Whence came this dissatisfaction? I searched and found the answer: it came from my self-love, which, having waxed indignant against mankind, still rebelled against reason.” It's very easy for us to conceal our ego's protection as simply a desire to find justice. In ruminating about all the moments of a situation in which we were wronged and innocent, we can get lost and forget that we simply are trying to protect our own self-esteem. He comes to realize that it is only when he realized this, and gave up on trying to compare himself to others, that he was able to overcome the pain that his inner reasoning had caused him. > “Insults, reprisals, offences, injuries, injustices are all nothing to the man who sees in the hardships he suffers nothing but the hardships themselves and not the intention behind them, and whose place in his own self-esteem does not depend on the good-will of others.” Seeing the good and the bad that we experience with equal indifference, being able to not allow ourselves to worry or be rattled, does so much more to "compensate" our enemies. They have done us a service to provide us with pain that we have been able to movie beyond, because it proves to us that we can survive, and therefore have less to fear. Though encounters wth our enemies may cause discomfort, once we are away from them, it will be over. Allowing our mind to focus on them after this in order to protect ourselves only gives them power that they don't deserve. He talks about how he puts great effort to escape to nature as much as has he can. Even though he can be hot tempered, allowing himself to go outside and walk, to live in and enjoy the moment, is enough to calm him down and return him to his natural state of being good natured. Walking is important!