Jean- Jacques Rousseau

By Emily Chen and Brianna LeConti

Early Life Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva on June 28th, 1712 to Isaac

Rousseau and Suzanne Bernard. His mother died a few days after on July 7th and his older brother ran away. So Rousseau was brought up mainly by his father. When his father got in a fight with a French Captain and was at risk of imprisonment, his father left. Therefore Jean was raised by his uncle and was later sent off with his cousin to study in the village of Bosey. Rousseau went to Paris to become a composer and musician in 1742. In 1745 Rousseau met a linen maid by the name of Therese Levasseur. They got married in 1768 and then had five children together. All of the kids were left at the Paris Orphanage. In 1753, Rousseau submitted an entry to an essay contest. The question was “What is the origin of inequality among men, and is it authorized by the natural law?” The answer to the question would soon become his book called Discourse on the Origin of Inequality Among Men. A year after the publication of the Second Discourse, Rousseau and Levasseur left Paris. In 1761, he published his novel Julie or the New Heloise. After spending three years in the southeast, Rousseau returned to Paris in 1770 where he copied music. He died on July 3rd,1778.

Ideas and Beliefs •He believed that people choose to give up freedom to be ruled by a government

•Also he believed the good of the community as a whole is more important than the individual

Education

• His idea is that education should be carried out so far as possible.

Interests •political philosophy

•music

•education

•literature

•autobiography

Family Life• Married Therese Levasseur• Had 5 kids together• Left them at Paris Orphanage

Book on the philosophy of educationPublished several months after the Social ContractThe Emile was immediately banned by Paris authoritiesWritten in first person with a tutor as the narrator.

The Emile

The Three Discourses•The first book is called Discourse on the Sciences and Arts also called the First Discourse•The first part of this compares how the arts and sciences flourished in some societies and not in others impacted morality and virtue•The second part focused on the examination of the arts and sciences themselves and the perils they bring

•The second book is the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality called the Second Discourse •The first part is Rousseau’s description of human beings in the pure state of nature and how they are uncorrupted by civilization and the socialization process •Part two explains the complex series of historical events that moved humans from the pure state to the state of present day civil society.

•Book three is the Discourse on Political Economy also called the Third Discourse•This book explains what Rousseau takes to be a legitimate political regime.

Other Works

Julie or the New Heloise•One of Rousseau’s popular works•A novel

Reveries of the Solitary Walker•Began working on it in the fall of 1776•Part story, part “philosophical treatise”.

Rousseau: Judge of Jean Jacques• Referred to as the Dialogues•In the form of three dialogues

Historical and Philosophical Influence

• His first major philosophical work was, A Discourse on the Science and Arts.• Greatest philosophical influence was on the ethical thought of Immanuel Kant• Another major influence was Rousseau’s political thought• Influenced Karl Max• Rousseau’s works were also “championed by the leaders of the French

Revolution”

Quotes• Every man has the right to risk his own life in order to

preserve it. Has it ever been said that a man who throws himself out the window to escape from a fire is guilty of suicide? Jean-Jacques Rousseau

• “Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains• “Only the general will can direct the energies of the state…”• A feeble body weakens the mind. • Base souls have no faith in great individuals.

Below is a list of Rousseau’s major works in chronological order. The titles are given in the original French as well as the English translation. Following the title is the year of the work’s first publication and, for some works, a brief description:

1 Discours sur les Sciences et les Arts (Discourse on the Sciences and Arts), 1750. Often referred to as the “First Discourse,” this work was a submission to the Academy of Dijon’s essay contest, which it won, on the question, “Has the restoration of the sciences and arts tended to purify morals?”

Le Devin du Village (The Village Soothsayer), 1753. Rousseau’s opera: it was performed in France and widely successful.

Narcisse ou l’amant de lui-même (Narcissus or the lover of himself), 1753. A play written by Rousseau.

Lettre sur la musique francaise (Letter on French music), 1753.Discours sur l’origine et les fondments de l’inegalite (Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality), 1755.

Often referred to as the “Second Discourse,” this was another submission to an essay contest sponsored by the Academy of Dijon, though unlike the First Discourse, it did not win the prize. The Second Discourse is a response to the question, “What is the Origin of Inequality Among Men and is it Authorized by the Natural Law?”

Discours sur l’Économie politique (Discourse on Political Economy), 1755. Sometimes called the “Third Discourse,” this work originally appeared in the Encyclopédie of Diderot and d’Alembert.

Lettre á d’Alembert sur les Spectacles (Letter to Alembert on the Theater), 1758.Juli ou la Nouvelle Héloïse (Julie or the New Heloise), 1761.

A novel that was widely read and successful immediately after its publication.Du Contract Social (The Social Contract), 1762.

Rousseau’s most comprehensive work on politics.Émile ou de l’Éducation (Émile or On Education), 1762.

Rousseau’s major work on education. It also contains the Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar, which documents Rousseau’s views on metaphysics, free will, and his controversial views on natural religion for which the work was banned by Parisian authorities.

Lettre á Christophe de Beaumont, Archévêque de Paris (Letter to Christopher de Beaumont, Archbishop of Paris), 1763.Lettres écrites de la Montagne (Letters Written from the Mountain), 1764.Dictionnaire de Musique (Dictionary of Music), 1767.Émile et Sophie ou les Solitaires (Émile and Sophie or the Solitaries), 1780.

A short sequel to the Émile.Considérations sur le gouverment de la Pologne (Considerations on the Government of Poland), 1782.Les Confessions (The Confessions), Part I 1782, Part II 1789.

Rousseau’s autobiography.Rousseau juge de Jean-Jacques, Dialogues (Rousseau judge of Jean-Jacques, Dialogues), First Dialogue 1780, Complete 1782.Les Rêveries du Promeneur Solitaire (Reveries of the Solitary Walker), 1782.

The Social Contract•It explains the relationship between people and government

•It defines and limits rights

•Sets a condition for memberships in society

Pictures

Views on Human Nature

He thought humans in their natural state are good but they are corrupted by the evils of their society.

Legacy•Most people are fascinated by him today

•He was called the far sighted genius

Exile•Forced to flee from France

•Sought refuge at Yverdon in the territory of Bern but was also kicked out

•In 1766, with the help of British philosopher (David Hume), he was able to settle in Wotton, Derbyshire, England

•He didn’t trust Hume and returned to France in June 1767 under Prince de Conti’s protection

•In 1770, he settled in Paris

Death•Died on July 2, 1778

•Died because of umeria

•Umeria is a severe kidney disease

•He was buried on the Île des Peupliers at Ermenonville

• 1712 Born on June 12 .• 1733 Madam de Warens becomes his mistress.• 1738 Becomes ill and goes to Montpellier which facilitates a liason with Madame de Larange. Loses his relationship to

Madam de Warens.• 1740 Tutors at Lyon.• 1741 Goes to Paris after discovering he neither likes teaching nor is very good at it.• 1743 Meets Therese le Vasseur who will become his mistress, bearing him five children, and whom he marries near the

end of his life.• 1745 Returns to Paris. Collaborates on the Encyclopedia.• 1751 Publishes Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts.• 1754 Returns to Geneva and abjures his abjuration of the Protestant religion.• 1755 Publishes Discourse on Inequality.• 1756 April moves back to Paris in a cottage at Montmorency. Writes Heloise.• 1757 Leaves Montmorency for nearby Montlouis after a quarrel with Diderot.• 1758 Publication of Letter to d'Alembert and final rupture in his relations with Diderot.• 1761 Publication of Heloise.• 1762 Publication of Emile and The Social Contract which forces him to leave France to avoid arrest. Lives briefly in

Neuchatel.• 1763 Renounces citizenship of Geneva.• 1765 Driven from Motiers to the Island of Saint-Pierre.• 1766 David Hume offers him asylum in England. Begins work on Confessions.• 1767 Returns to live in various provinces of France.• 1770 Returns to live in Paris. Writes many of his most important works while in Paris over the next eight years including

his Dialogues and Reveries.• 1778 Moves to Ermenonville where he dies suddenly on July 2.

Time Line

Websites• http://www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/• http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jeanjacques_rousseau.html• http://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-about• http://www.amazon.com/Reveries-Solitary-Walker-Jean-Jacques-Rousseau/dp/14

20939181• http://misadventuresofmoppet.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/teaser-tuesday-julie-

or-the-new-heloise-by-jean-jacques-rousseau/• http://www.anobii.com/books/Rousseau,_Judge_of_Jean-Jacques/

9780874514957/01e6fdac1845d00b46/• http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/rousseau.html• http://www.daftblogger.com/political-obligations/jean-jacques-rousseau/• http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ro-Sc/Rousseau-Jean-Jacques.html• http://americanilliterati.blogspot.com/2011/07/jean-jacques-rousseau.html