Philosophy / Philosophers Datebook: June 28
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Brief biography of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a leading philosopher and writer of the 18th century Age of Enlightenment and period of Romanticism, known for The Social Contract and Emile, or Treatise on Education.
Jean Jacques Rousseau, Swiss leading philosopher of the Enlightenment and a writer, pioneer of the Romantic Movement in continental philosophy. He is famous for his books The Social Contract and Emile, (or Treatise on Education, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, and Confessions).
Early years
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born on June 28, 1712, in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of a watchmaker. When his mother died at his birth, his father hardly showed any interest in him. Aged 16, he ran away from Geneva and wandered around Europe until his late 20s. He was taken in the private care of a Madame de Warens where he took to reading, study and eventually after few years got a job as secretary to the French Ambassador in Venice.
Rousseau became acquainted with the leading writers and celebrities of the time including Voltaire and Denis Diderot, who was chief editor of the Encyclopedia that time. Through Diderot, Rousseau received work writing for the encyclopedia that began to appear in 1751.
Despite his success as a writer, he only started his first book when he was nearly 40 years old. He fell out with almost everyone upon his publication of The Social Contract, including the Government of France, the Protestants and Catholics, and with Madame Françoise-Louise de Warens, who had become his mistress by this time. He even quarreled with his one-time friend, David Hume in England.
Rousseau Philosophy: The Social Contract and the General Will
The Social Contract starts with the famous opening line: “Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains.” In this work, he provides a blueprint for the ideal society, in contrast to his earlier books, Emile and The Origin of Inequality. Rousseau envisions a liberated society. He argues that when people live in social groups, their freedom to follow their own interests must be limited to the general will of the group to which they belong. He further claims that injustice is a result of institutions or the so-called “civilized” group of people (society) which suppress or corrupt the natural will and ability of men.
Rousseau also introduces the “general will” which he defines as the will of all those directed to their own common interests and distinct from “the will of all” which is merely the consolidation of individual selfish wills.
The general will, however, appears to generate a force that is greater than the sum of its parts. What is often missing in the interpretation is the way he sees it: there can be no disharmony between the interests of the sovereign and that of the people, since by definition, the sovereign is constituted from the people. This is most unlikely.
Insight to Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau is one of the outstanding figures of French literature and philosophy. A contemporary of Voltaire, he lived during the Age of Enlightenment, with its social upheavals and romanticism. In his philosophy and writings, he discusses political philosophy and believes the environment has a great part in shaping people and society. The Social Contract of Jean-Jacques Rousseau inspired the French Revolution with its famous catchphrase "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité."
He died at the age of 66, July 2, 1778.
Photo Credit:
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Wikipedia Commons / Public Domain. (Painted portrait). Unknown source.
Resources:
Clark, John, Ed. Illustrated Biographical Dictionary. London: Chancellor Press, 1994
McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers, Harrap Publishers, 2002
Stokes, Philip. Philosophy: The Great Thinkers. London: Arcturus Publishing, 2007
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