ABSTRACT
In the Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau contrasts natural and civilized man. The former has “all his forces constantly at [his] command, [is] always prepared for any eventuality, and [is] always, so to speak, altogether complete in [himself].” 1 The latter by contrast has delegated his powers to his tools and equipment, and thus compromised his integrity. If one were to strip civilized man of his things and set him against the savage, it would quickly become apparent who is stronger absolutely. Rousseau does not claim that a “natural man” or “savage” ever existed. 2 Nevertheless, the notion of a pre-technological stage of human development is important as a limit concept in the Discourse, as a foil for the always overly civilized condition of the modern. One can easily see how this limit concept is generated. Taking the present human condition as a starting point, subtract one technical advance after another, thus revealing an ever simpler and “purer” human life-world. Eventually, you will have returned to an Edenic state: human beings stand there, naked, healthy, and innocent of clothes and tools. The moment they reach down to pick up a hammer-stone, or pluck a fig leaf to cover their nakedness, must now appear as the first moment of a history of corruption and decline. Technology is a symbol of the Fall.
