... According to Rousseau, individuals perceive themselves to be free in the 'state of nature', whereas in reality they are slaves to their appetites and dependent on other people's actions, reacting to instinct instead of reason (Block 3, pg. 111). Therefore, Rousseau offers the opportunity to master our impulses and become truly free by entering into civil society by way of a 'social contract'. "This passage from the state of nature to the civil state produces quite a remarkable change in man, for it substitutes justice for instinct in his behaviour and gives his actions a moral quality they previously lacked" (Ibid. pg. 109). In contrast, Romantic artists stress the importance of imagination and sentiment instead of reason, and Friedrich's picture of 1818, 'The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog' (Illustration Book, Colour Plate 60)2, exemplifies this. This painting seems to invite the viewer to join the subject in reflection of ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now