Illustration: Anne Geßner
According to Rousseau, the human being is good, naive and close to nature. His universally developed body allows him a high degree of adaptability. Surely, human sensorial performance is not as highly specialized in habitats as it is the case with other animal species. However, it can cope with its environment and can therefore satisfy its basic needs. As soon as hunger and thirst have been satisfied, he rests. The human being is satisfied with it, without desire and free.
Rousseau's view of humanity is partly in contrast to the current conception of the human being, which says that humans, due to their cultural heritage and level of intelligence, are a special kind of animal that stands its ground against nature. He sees himself as the crowning glory of creation and at the same time separated from it. In this case, nature is seen as a reservoir of his desires. Of course, according to Rousseau, people do not have a perfect life in paradise. Nature can put obstacles in their way. Times of weakness and vulnerability, for example during childhood, when suffering from diseases and in old age, must be experienced by all animal species including humans. But it becomes more resilient, stronger and more adaptable. Nevertheless, Rousseau assumes that there are enough natural resources to satisfy basic needs. In this state of nature, concepts such as competition, scarcity or shortage, property or war have no meaning, because there is no war if you have nothing to defend.