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Philosophy vocabulary · Key Thinkers' Concepts

General will

Meaning in philosophy, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In philosophy, general will means: Rousseau's idea of the shared will of the people as a whole, aimed at the common good, as opposed to the sum of private interests.

In Turkish: genel irade

How it is used

A central concept of The Social Contract (1762). Rousseau contrasted it with the will of all, which is just the sum of individual preferences. Critics worry that appeals to the general will can be used to override individuals.

Example sentences

  1. For Rousseau, laws are legitimate only when they express the general will.

  2. How can a majority vote reveal the general will rather than the will of all?

Common collocations

  • express the general will
  • the will of all
  • the common good
  • Rousseau's general will
  • social contractThe idea that political authority or moral rules are justified because rational people would agree, or have agreed, to accept them for mutual benefit.
  • legitimacyThe quality of political power being rightful, so that those who hold it have a genuine right to rule and people have reasons to obey.
  • libertyThe condition of being free to act and choose without unjustified interference, especially from the state or from other people.
  • state of natureThe imagined condition of human beings living without any government or political authority, used to explain why we need a state.

More terms: Key Thinkers' Concepts

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