Rousseau explains that both animals and men share the trait that they have ideas. The distinction between the two species comes from then the degree to which the idea is combined. He goes on to say that nature then relays her command to both the animal and the man, and while they both receive it, their reaction to the command is quite different. When an animal is given a "command" from nature they immediately obey it without question. Whereas the complications of man take that "command" and express the freedom of independence and analyzation, so the instinct or "impulse" that man then makes may be to resist what nature is trying to communicate. This relates to Avatar with the scene where Jake is first introduced to Neytiri. He begins to follow her, and when she refuses to associate with him, she is taken aback by the sign of Ewa as the seed from the Sacred Tree floats through the air and lands on Jake. Jake then confirms Rousseau's "free agency" theory of man as his first instinct is to swat the seed away before it touches him. Which is the same as him acting as the free-spirited man who decides to reject the call from nature. Neytiri is the character then that can represent Rousseau's idea of an animal where she takes the command from nature and obeys it which is to then take hospitality to Jake. The great thing about Avatar is that is shows how man and animal interact and learn from one another, and although Jake in this scene represents the man and Neytiri the animal, it becomes the animal that teaches the man to listen to the command that was given from nature, which reults in Jake becoming covered with Nature's message i.e. the seeds.
I also did my blog post on how man and animals differ in which they use their ideas. I feel like you did a better job than me in explaining this which is why i wanted to comment on your post.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the example from Avatar you chose. I had a difficult time picking something and going with it. But I think this example fits really well! You talked about the "free agency" and that seemed to fit perfect with the scene you chose!
Overall good job!!
The example is really strong in articulating the differences between man and animal and the relation to nature that we all have. Something else that could be incorporated is man's drive to try and control nature that is external to him, while animals simply coexist
ReplyDeleteI think you picked a great example to explain your point or rather an idea from Rousseau's work. This example was good in showing how a man reacts to nature and how an animal reacts to nature's command. I didn't really dig into that idea when I read her work, but now it is more clear to me.
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