Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

"A feeble body weakens the mind."

Who was Jean Jacques Rousseau?

Jean Jacques Rousseau was an influential philosopher of the Enlightenment who spent time between his hometown of Geneva, Switzerland, and Paris, France. He made a name for himself by writing A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, in which he argued that people were corrupted by the arts and sciences, and by writing The Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, where he said all people were born good, but were made unhappy and bad by society. Rousseau's most influential work, though, was The Social Contract Within that, he talked about how in a state of nature, man will be in competition with man, so they join up with other men in order to get greater protection. While this assembly protects the people within it, it also exists at the permission of the individuals, so with the people, is where the power lies. This concept would be very important in sparking the French Revolution. Along with being famous for his writings, Rousseau was a musical composer and novelist.

Character-Rousseau would definitely not be considered the ideal man, as he was known to have quarreled frequently with his peers, and became rather paranoid towards the end of his life. As well, Rousseau fathered many illegitimate children, and refused to pay child support to help them out.

Rating: 4

Success-While his works were definitely influential, especially when it came to the French Revolution, it's hard to say that he had more success than some of the other philosophers I've discussed. The Social Contract caused him to have to flee from Paris to Geneva, where he struggled to cooperate with authorities and friends. He was criticized by fellow philosophers of his time, such as Edmund Burke and Voltaire.

Rating: 6

Positive Contributions-Along with the French Revolution, Rousseau impacted political philosophy and ideas about education. He believed that for one to learn, experience is more important that book learning. However, due to divergence of the way his political ideas were applied and his criticism of private property, Rousseau has been seen as contributing to modern fascism and communism.

Rating: 5

Impact-More directly, his ideas were used by the leaders of the revolutions in France. Indirectly, his ideas brought revolutions all around Europe.

Rating: 8

TOTAL RATING: 5.1 (8th of 8)