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How did Jean-Jacques Rousseau describe humans before organized society?

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Painting by Rembrandt showing Aristotle in rich dark clothing with a gold chain, resting his hand thoughtfully on a marble bust of Homer, illuminated against a dark background. — natural law *Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer*, oil on canvas by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1653; in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

In his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Jean-Jacques Rousseau described humans in the state of nature as solitary, healthy, happy, and free beings.12

Contrary to the pessimistic view held by Thomas Hobbes—who characterized pre-social life as "poor, nasty, brutish, and short"—Rousseau argued that original humans were naturally good and lived in a morally neutral, peaceful condition. In this primitive state, individuals were not driven by social vices like pride, envy, or fear, but instead acted according to basic urges for self-preservation, which were tempered by a natural sense of compassion.132

Rousseau maintained that these humans lived isolated lives, supplying their simple needs from nature's abundance. He believed that human vices, inequality, and conflict only emerged later, following the formation of societies, the development of cohabitation, and the "fatal" introduction of property, which necessitated laws to protect possessions.412