Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an eighteenth-century Genevan philosopher whose ideas shaped modern political thought and education theory.
His *Social Contract* introduced the concept of the general will and popular sovereignty; *Emile* reimagined childhood education around natural development.
Rousseau argued that civilization corrupts humanity's natural goodness—man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
His work influenced the French Revolution and Romantic movement.
Titled personal revelations
- EmileFrench masculine given name
- JulieClassic feminine name
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
- lettersAlphabetic characters or mail
prose · memoir · philosophical novel · epistolary · manuscript · publication · banned books · literary style
Agreement exchanging freedom for order
- state of natureHypothetical pre-governmental human existence
- popular sovereigntyPopulace holds ultimate authority
- natural goodnessInborn moral quality
- civil societyNongovernmental organized citizenry
noble savage · legitimacy · political theory · civic freedom · republicanism · direct democracy · autonomy · collectivism
Basis or justification
- progressMovement toward improvement
- reformImprove by correcting faults
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- humanismPhilosophy prioritizing earthly reason
skepticism · rationalism · Voltaire · Diderot · Encyclopédie · salons · intellectual · democracy
French masculine given name
- child-centeredFocused on children's needs
- pedagogyArt of instruction
- tutorIndividual instruction provider
- SophieFeminine name, Greek origin
developmental stages · learning by doing · curiosity · experience · nurture · progressive · informal · autodidact
Swiss seat of diplomacy
- ParisFrance's chief city
- exileBanishment from homeland
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- paranoiaIrrational persecution fears
wandering · conversion · watchmaker · self-taught · poverty · fame · infamy
Felt attitude or view
- emotionComplex psychological state
- sensibilityRefined emotional responsiveness
- individualismDoctrine of personal independence
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
passion · sublime · self-expression · sincerity · authenticity · genius · spontaneity · melancholy
In earliest form
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- pastoralOf countryside or clergy care
- solitudeState of being alone
- simplicityLack of complexity
uncorrupted · harmony · reverie · botanizing · herbarium · walking · countryside · Garden of Eden
Confessions
Titled personal revelations
- EmileFrench masculine given name
- JulieClassic feminine name
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
letters · prose · memoir · philosophical novel · epistolary · manuscript · publication · banned books · literary style
social contract
Agreement exchanging freedom for order
- state of natureHypothetical pre-governmental human existence
- popular sovereigntyPopulace holds ultimate authority
- natural goodnessInborn moral quality
civil society · noble savage · legitimacy · political theory · civic freedom · republicanism · direct democracy · autonomy · collectivism · human rights
reason
Basis or justification
- progressMovement toward improvement
- reformImprove by correcting faults
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
humanism · skepticism · rationalism · Voltaire · Diderot · Encyclopédie · salons · intellectual · democracy · ethics
Emile
French masculine given name
- child-centeredFocused on children's needs
- pedagogyArt of instruction
- tutorIndividual instruction provider
Sophie · developmental stages · learning by doing · curiosity · experience · nurture · progressive · informal · autodidact · formative
Geneva
Swiss seat of diplomacy
- ParisFrance's chief city
- exileBanishment from homeland
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
paranoia · wandering · conversion · watchmaker · self-taught · poverty · fame · infamy
sentiment
Felt attitude or view
- emotionComplex psychological state
- sensibilityRefined emotional responsiveness
- individualismDoctrine of personal independence
imagination · passion · sublime · self-expression · sincerity · authenticity · genius · spontaneity · melancholy · solitude
primitive
In earliest form
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- pastoralOf countryside or clergy care
- solitudeState of being alone
simplicity · uncorrupted · harmony · reverie · botanizing · herbarium · walking · countryside · Garden of Eden · innocence
- Swiss FiguresJean Piaget, Carl Jung, John Calvin, Roger Federer, Paul Klee
- 1700sMozart, Voltaire, colonial period, French Revolution, William III
- RomanticismWilliam Blake, the sublime, J.M.W. Turner, Eugene Delacroix, emotionalism
- 1700s WritersAlexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Voltaire, Samuel Richardson, Daniel Defoe
- enlightenmentVoltaire, Rousseau, Locke, Kant, Montesquieu
- Enlightenment FiguresVoltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, John Locke, Locke
Jean-Jacques RousseauThomas Hobbes
English political philosopher
John Locke · Adam Smith · Voltaire · Ayn Rand · Karl Popper
Jean-Jacques RousseauVoltaire
French Enlightenment satirist
Francis Bacon · progressivists · industrialists · urbanists · modernizers
Jean-Jacques RousseauThomas Hobbes
English political philosopher
B.F. Skinner · disciplinarians · René Descartes · Immanuel Kant · David Hume