Jean-Jacque Rousseau

(1712-1778)
Anthony Liberto

“Man is born free, and everywhere he

is in shackles.”- The Social Contract
 Early Life
• Born in Geneva, Switzerland on June 28,1712
• Devout Catholic
• Raised by his aunt and uncle when his father fleas
Geneva after committing a minor offense
• Age 16 he wanders and does a variety of jobs such
as an assistant, footman, and an ambassador
 Early Life Cont’d

• Settles in Paris in 1742

• Becomes a musician copyist for a living
• Marries Therese Le Vasseur
• Places 5 kids in foundling hospital
• Died July 2, 1778
 Rousseau’s Philosophy
• Freedom=obedience to the law
• A Radical Democratic government
• There is no individual, man belongs to a
larger whole which is society
• Deism was Rousseau’s answer to religion
and to uniting the people
• Thought that people should be good, even
if that means you have to be poor
 Philosophy Cont’d
• Society is evil and ruins a man’s freedom
• Primitive approach believing that
civilization, science, and learning are the
reasons for man’s corruption
• Emotional influence
 Books
• 1750- Discourse on the Moral Effects of
the Arts and Sciences
• 1755- Discourse on the Origin of
Inequality
• 1762- The Social Contract
 Legacy
• Thought to be the creator of modern day
socialism
• Shows us the importance of questioning the
foundations of social thought and action
• Influenced nineteenth and twentieth century
writers, who were critical of Western culture
 Legacy Cont’d
• Also influences the leaders of the French
Revolution, and the Reign of Terror during
the revolution can be blamed on him
• Although his influence was very limited
during his time, due to the fact that people
cared more about making money than his
criticism, he is rated today as one of the
world’s 100 most influential people
 Bibliography
• Kagan, Donald. The Western Heritage. 9. Combined Volume. Upper Saddle
River: Pearson Education Inc, 2007. 568-69. Print.
• C.D., Merriman. "Jean-Jacques Rousseau." The Literature Network. 2005.
Jalic Inc, Web. 15 Nov 2009. <http://www.online-literature.com/rousseau/>.
• Kreis, Steven. "Jean-Jacques Rousseau." The History Guide. 4/8/09. The
History Guide, Web. 15 Nov 2009.
<http://www.historyguide.org/Europe/rousseau.html>.