Jean Jacques Rousseau Accomplishments

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Swiss-born philosopher, writer, and political theorist, was born to Isaac Rousseau and Suzanne Bernard in Geneva on June 28, 1712. Rousseau’s mother died in childbirth, and he was raised by his father. His father fled Geneva to avoid a legal conflict for hunting on private lands, and he was left with his Uncle. At age 13, Rousseau was apprenticed first to a notary and then to an engraver who beat him. At 15, he ran away from Geneva (on 14 March 1728) after returning to the city and finding the city gates locked due to the curfew. He moved to Italy and France and held various jobs throughout. In Annecy, France, he met Françoise-Louise de Warens and lived on and off with her. He became her lover, and she supported him
and gave him opportunities to advance, while her and the members of the Catholic Clergy introduced Rousseau to the world of letters and ideas.

Major Contributions:
Rousseau wrote a “Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts”, which was was his winning response to an essay contest conducted by the Academy of Dijon in 1750.
Rousseau argued that the progression of the sciences and arts has caused the corruption of virtue and morality. Rousseau claimed that the arts and sciences are born from our vices: he states, “Astronomy was born from superstition; eloquence from ambition, hate, flattery, and falsehood; geometry from avarice, physics from vain curiosity; all, even moral philosophy, from human pride.” Rousseau expressed that society had become more harmful than sophisticated, and society began to emphasize specialized talents rather than virtues such as courage, generosity, and temperance. Unlike Hobbes and many Catholic writers, he did not believe that society was inherently corrupt or bad. His initial ideas in “A Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts” are believed to be inspired by Françoise-Louise de Warens. His “A Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts” allowed Rousseau to gain fame and recognition, while laying the foundation for his next writing, “The Discourse on the Origin of Inequality”, which was written in response to this prompt: “What is the origin of the inequality among men and is it justified by natural
law?”
In “The Discourse on the Origin of Inequality”, he attempts to explain the nature of human beings by stripping them of all of the accidental qualities brought about by socialization.
In this primitive state, people were happy and there were no awas, no judges; all people were equal. Rousseau suggested that the earliest humans possessed a basic drive for self-preservation, and compassion and pity. Unlike animals, Rousseau illustrated that humans had free will and the potential for perfectibility. People came together, formed families, and this led to developments in agriculture, metallurgy, private property, and the division of labor, which created inequality. Neighbours began to compare their abilities and achievements with one another, and this furthered a divide. Ultimately, the work proclaims that by nature, humans are essentially peaceful, content, and equal, and that they had lost their liberty due to the
past.
Rousseau also wrote another influential treatise titled, Emile, and it turned out to be one of the Enlightenment’s most important works on education. It was written in the form of a novel, and focuses on the education of the natural man, and Rousseau proclaimed that a proper education should encourage a child’s natural instincts. Rousseau also sought a balance between sentiment and reason, as his emphasis and heart made him a precursor in the intellectual movement of Romanticism. Rousseau also outlines his beliefs on a marriage, and that women should be educated or prepared to lovingly raise a child by learning obedience and nurturing skills, since women were considered more practical and better equipped to raise children. The woman is supposed to be governed by her husband, who is self-governing of himself. It also discussed religion and he claimed that knowledge of God is found in the observation of the natural order and one’s place in it, and any organized religion that correctly identifies God as the creator and preaches virtue and morality, is true in this sense. This sense of religious toleration and indifference was perceived as heresy, resulting in Rousseau’s Emile to be banned.
In 1762, Rousseau had “The Social Contract” published, in which he tried to harmonize the individual authority with the authority of the government. The social contract served as an agreement of a whole society to be governed by the general will. Rousseau argues that following the general will allows for individual diversity and freedom. The general will is directly tied to Sovereignty, which is directed at the public good and the general will. He expressed that individuals should not follow their own self-interest, they should be compelled to go along with the general will. He believed that liberty would be achieved from doing this and being forced to follow what was best for all people, because what was best for all was best for each individual. Since everyone was responsible for creating laws, this could never be delegated to a parliamentary institution; therefore, “The Social Contract” ultimately supported participatory democracy.
Importance:
Influenced the modern education system, and influenced child-centered education.
Called Father of Romanticism.