Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and one of the most influential figures of the Enlightenment. Born in Geneva to a family of artisans, he left the city as a young man and spent time in Paris, Switzerland, and France, where he produced many of his major works and engaged with contemporary intellectual currents.

Rousseau's thought centers on the tension between civilization and natural liberty. In Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755) he argued that the emergence of private property and state institutions fostered inequality and diminished freedom. In The Social Contract (1762) he proposed that legitimate political authority derives from the general will of the people, and that sovereignty cannot be delegated to rulers. He used the concept of the general will to advocate for participatory politics, while warning that it can be obscured by faction or manipulation.

In education he promoted a naturalistic approach in Emile, or On Education (1762), emphasizing the development of the individual through experience, emotion, and schooling appropriate to the child’s stage. His novel Julie, or the New Heloise (1761) combined sentiment with social critique and influenced literary and moral discussions of the era.

Rousseau's ideas influenced political philosophy, pedagogy, and literature, and helped shape Romanticism and modern democratic thought. His work provoked controversy, with critics challenging his views on religion and social order, yet his insistence on freedom, equality, and the role of public reason left a lasting imprint on Western intellectual history.