How does Rousseau distinguish the savage man from the civilized man?

In Rousseau’s “A Discourse on Inequality”, he discusses the simple way of life the savage man lives. This, almost animal like way of living, is not a luxurious lifestyle, but rather it is the way nature intended man to live, where his focus is on his needs, and desires are not a thing. He explains that if the civilized man was to be stripped of all artificial faculties, that he would be no better off, no stronger or no more advantageous than the savage man. However, because civilized man has access to things the savage man does not, Rousseau outlines many differences between the two. I would argue the biggest difference is not anything physical, but rather the way the two think. The civilized man has the capacity to think and make decisions, whereas the savage man is “consigned by nature to instinct alone” (89). The savage man is more like an animal in this respect, lacking the power of freewill. Rousseau frequently compares the savage to an animal because he “begins with purely animal functions” (89). He lives to survive and to satisfy his basic needs, not worrying about anything but what is happening at the present moment. Rousseau writes, “The savage man, deprived of any sort of enlightenment, experiences passions only of this last kind; his desires do not go beyond his physical needs” (89). The savage man lives day to day, having no concept of the future. He has no hope outside of what he needs to survive, and thinks only about these things. He has no concept of happiness, for the “only good things he knows in the universe are food, a female and repose” (89). On the other hand, the civilized man has knowledge outside of the present moment. He can think on his own in the present moment as well as have hope for the future. This increased level of intelligence and awareness allows for freedom of thought. Because of this, the civilized man can feel passion and happiness, abstract thoughts and feelings that are foreign to the savage. These passions and desires allow man’s knowledge and understanding to grow, moving him further apart from the savage. Rousseau writes, “ It is by the activity of the passions that our reason improves itself; we seek to know only because we desire to enjoy” (89). It is this increased knowledge that separates the savage from the civilized man. It is the ability to feel, to desire things that are outside man’s basic necessities, and to think and act according to free will that is the key distinguishing factor.

Rousseau, A Discourse on Inequality, Translated by Maurice Cranston, Penguin Classics, 1984.