Jean Jacques Rousseau's Accomplishments

Jean- Jacques Rousseau was born on June 28, 1712, in Switzerland. The European philosopher wrote a book called A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences. His belief is that society is corrupted by evil and that man is good in his “state of nature” (Notes). He believed that man are naturally good and if we let them act on their own instinct, that they will act their true nature. He claims that politics are evil and corrupt the society with their systems.

Jean Jacques Rousseau was a French philosopher in 1712-1778. He believed that all humans are born innocent and what corrupt them and makes evil is society. He believes that if there was no society it would not make human beings feel so judged, shy or depended on others. Without society people would feel more equal they would not want to compare themselves Humans would feel freer. Rousseau thought that society weakens humans that if someone were to grow up in a natural place and place far from society they would be stronger. Compared o the people that grow up in a society they weaken.

Society becomes corrupt and there will be violence and as a result will lead to revolution in the society. Rousseau believes in a direct democracy. These views will not be successful because good ideas will be hard to accomplish because of practical difficulties of the people living in the society. Rousseau says that a section of the society will provide certain types of jobs to their own relations and friends. This will create partiality and deprive the talented ones.

Along with these failures include the many apprenticeships and jobs in which he just gives up or is fired from. From his teens to the middle of this mans life the reader is lead to believe that Rousseau will quit any task at the drop of a hat. At the age of 12 he apprentices his uncle who is a lawyer who lets Rousseau go due to the fact that he was incapable of doing his job. Then he tries out teaching where he realizes that he is no good at tutoring as well. It was not till he returns to Paris that he realizes his true talent, writing. His only true successes were his accomplished writings. He would probably his sexual accomplishments, which include the women who he made out to be physical trophies. In the middle of the book we see a real change in the character of Rousseau. "I now carried with me wherever I went a self-assurance which owed its firmness to its simplicity which dwelt in my soul rather than in my outward bearing…and I crushed their little witticisms with my observations, as I might crush an insect between my fingers, what a change!" (Pg 388) Now we are seeing a man who is no longer the shy child in the earlier pages who's main concern was for everyone to love him. Now he describes himself as somewhat cocky and boisterous and no longer cares about the opinions of others towards him. These years of Rousseau's life

Born in Geneva in 1712, Rousseau was shaped by the death of his mother and loss of his father at an early age. Sent to live with the Baroness de Warens, he gained a formal education that enabled him to write his later famous works. He loathed the Baroness’ values even when they eventually became lovers, but growing up in her educational environment allowed Rousseau to be exposed to different opinions that would eventually shape his Enlightened ideas, (Historyguide.org, www.historyguide.org/europe/rousseau.html.). This also exposed Rousseau to different religious ideas eventually forming his views that the church was corrupt, (Nardo, Don. “The Onrush of Modern Ideas.” The French Revolution, Cengage Learning, 2008, pp. 21–21.) Then in 1741, Rousseau fled to Paris where he wrote, “Les Muses Galantes.” This work allowed for Rousseau to meet Voltaire and exchange Enlightenment ideas. Being exposed to the “popular crowd” abled Rousseau in 1750 to write, “A Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts” based off of a prison he visited holding Denis Diderot. Diderot was one of the people Rousseau was able to meet due to Les Muses galantes, it was there Rousseau got the inspiration to form an opinion on the following essay question, “Have arts and sciences improved or corrupted the morals of mankind?”( Historyguide.org, www.historyguide.org/europe/rousseau.html.). Rousseau believed the arts and sciences had not corrupted man just simply decreased their freedoms. Being around Diderot in prison abled Rousseau to write, “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” which stressed his ideals of man’s natural goodness and the corruption of regularized life, which connects back to Rousseau’s visit to Diderot in an institutionalized prison. These events and works all lead up to Rousseau’s most famous and popular work, “The Social Contract.”

One of the most important writers of the Enlightenment was the philosopher and novelist Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). The work of Rousseau has influenced a generation and beyond and it is argued that the main ideals of the French and American revolutions arose from his works, for example The Discourse on Equality. The main concept of Rousseau's thought is that of 'liberty', and his belief that modern society forced humans to give up their independence, making everyday life corrupt and unfree. One of the central problems Rousseau confronted is best summed up in the first line of arguably his most important work, The Social Contract.

Rousseau’s assumptions and beliefs of his era are society and the growth of social interdependence. He was from 1700, (1712-78) it was very different compared to our beliefs.

Most importantly for Rousseau, however, is not necessarily how history lets him see how men might have been or how history lets him strike a balance between grasping the intricacy of human history and succeeding fluidly from one thought to another; it is how framing his work in such a way lets him give the greatest demonstrative proof of the point he makes. The first part of the work consists in a history of mankind until the institution of the social contract, and it reads easily and freely, just as man in Rousseau’s conception was in those days. The second part of the Second Discourse, which deals with the critique of the social contract itself, however, reads much more heavily, as if Rousseau were attempting to give the reader a taste of the gravity the social contract itself imposes upon man. The opening lines of the second half already launch his scathing attack on civil society by associating this notion with a man who takes advantage of his fellow men:

Jean Jacques Rousseau had a great deal to do with the movement of Western Europe. He supported individual freedom, but disliked the abolishment of the church and the state. On top of that, Jean Jacques Rousseau influenced romanticism in literature and philosophy in the early 19th century. Jean Jacques Rousseau dies in 1778 (Hampshire 152).

This is tangential. Rousseau is not relevant to the topic at hand. Be sure to stay focused and concise.

Another essential philosopher during the Enlightenment Era was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau was the only contemporary philosopher of the time to have a philosophy of governance, thus his influence was great in the drafting of the Constitution. In The Social Contract (1762), Rousseau posits that civil society is an interweaving of its citizens and that government should operate as "a moral and collective body"

As Rousseau stated, this allowed humans to be at their best, not being tied down to the conventions of society. Being able to choose our own path is an incredible right. Being able to vote is our choice and right, which would not have happened without Rousseau and the Enlightenment. It allows us to be equal, it let’s us be equal. This illustrates the idea that all humans are equals no matter the gender, race, or religion. Just because we can vote does not mean that we do not have sexism, or racist, or prejudiced people in our world. Without Rousseau’s thoughts and beliefs, we would still be stuck in the old world. We have the choice to pick who we want running our country. What you do with that is your choice, but why would you choose not to have the world you feel is

The books of history are records written by man for man. They “lie” about the true origin of man by showing facts and beliefs about the present man and how he evolved. Yet, nature shows man as he once was. By using nature as the guide, Rousseau can discover the man of the past a man different than the man of today.

This then lead to some jobs being looked at as more honorable or important than others. From this people began to develop social classes and that eventually leads to oppression and inequality.

To start with, Rousseau is of the view that human beings are not naturally sinful. They are galvanized to work together for the greater