Study Hub

Study Guides

This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.

Back to Study HubBrowse Year 8 Religious education Guides

Year 8 - Religious education

Analysing 'The Social Contract' by Rousseau

Religion and politics in the Enlightenment: How were they aligned?

Unit Summary

In this unit there is a choice. Through a social science lens, pupils consider how psychologists analyse the phenomenon of religion. Or they may study the flowering of philosophy at the time of the Enlightenment through a depth study of Hobbes and Rousseau and their ideas of religion and society.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to analyse Rousseau's idea of the social contract and how it relates to freedom and the general will.

Key Notes

  • Rousseau's main work was called 'The Social Contract.
  • This sets out his beliefs about human goodness and how society should be run.
  • He argues that people are free when governed by their own laws, serving the interest of the greater good.
  • Rousseau believed in elected officials carrying out the will of the people.
  • We can use critical thinking to analyse Rousseau's idea of a social contract.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • elected officials: according to Rousseau, individuals chosen by the people to implement the general will
  • the general will: the collective will of the people, focused on what is best for society as a whole, and not individual desires
  • 'The Social Contract': Rousseau's 1762 book and idea that individuals must give up some freedoms to form a just society, with laws reflecting the common good

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Rousseau's social contract is an actual written agreement signed by people.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Rousseau's main work was called 'The Social Contract. This sets out his beliefs about human goodness and how society should be run.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'elected officials'

according to Rousseau, individuals chosen by the people to implement the general will.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: Rousseau's social contract is an actual written agreement signed by people. Correction: The social contract is a philosophical concept, not a real document, representing an idea about how societies are formed and governed.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 8 Religious education guide library.