Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Portrait by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, 1753
Born(1712-06-28)28 June 1712
Geneva, Republic of Geneva
Died2 July 1778(1778-07-02) (aged 66)
Ermenonville, Picardy, Kingdom of France
PartnerThérèse Levasseur (1745–1778)
EraAge of Enlightenment
(early modern philosophy)
RegionWestern philosophy
School
Main interests
Political philosophy, music, education, literature
Notable ideas
General will, amour de soi, amour-propre, moral simplicity of humanity, child-centered learning, civil religion, popular sovereignty, positive liberty, public opinion
Writing career
LanguageFrench
Genres
SubjectSocial change
Literary movementSentimentalism
Years activefrom 1743
Notable worksThe Social Contract
Julie, or the New Heloise
Notable awardsAcadémie de Dijon (1750)
Signature
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau (UK: /ˈrs/, US: /rˈs/;[1][2] French: [ʒɑ̃ʒak ʁuso]; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher (philosophe), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.[3]

His Discourse on Inequality, which argues that private property is the source of inequality, and The Social Contract, which outlines the basis for a legitimate political order, are cornerstones in modern political and social thought. Rousseau's sentimental novel Julie, or the New Heloise (1761) was important to the development of preromanticism and romanticism in fiction.[4][5] His Emile, or On Education (1762) is an educational treatise on the place of the individual in society. Rousseau's autobiographical writings—the posthumously published Confessions (completed in 1770), which initiated the modern autobiography, and the unfinished Reveries of the Solitary Walker (composed 1776–1778)—exemplified the late 18th-century "Age of Sensibility", and featured an increased focus on subjectivity and introspection that later characterized modern writing.

  1. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  2. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  3. ^ Jean-Jacques Rousseau Archived 14 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine, in the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. ^ "Preromanticism Criticism". Enotes. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  5. ^ Darnton, Robert, "6. Readers Respond to Rousseau: The Fabrication of Romantic Sensitivity", The Great Cat Massacre for some interesting examples of contemporary reactions to this novel.

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