Jean Jacque Rousseau
(1712-1778)
Biography of Rousseau
• Born in 1712
• Born in Geneva: citoyen du haut/citoyen du bas
● In his texts he wants you to get to know him to see what type of political theorist he is
● Romantic, has romantic affairs
● Secretary to french ambassador to Venice
● Loves music!
● In Paris, what mattered in class society is if you are interesting. Rousseau, from the provinces, gets invited
to intellectual meets
● Becomes friends with one of the most important philosophers: e.g. Invited by David Hume to go to England,
develops strong friendship. Rousseau feels used by Hume who kept inviting people to meet Rousseau
(building clout) and they part ways
● Develops bladder problems in elderly life
● Dies in 1778
In Geneva, Switzerland there is a statue of Rousseau
1794 Rousseau is disintered from his grave in Geneva and moved to France during the French Revolution due to his
influence in the Enlightenment which in turn influenced the French Revolution
Rousseau as a Musician
Le Devin Du Village - praised by King…
Context of music scene: Was French Opera better than Italian? Rousseau preferred Italian Opera because he
thought the Italian language was better.
Rousseau’s Books
• Discourse on the Arts and Sciences
• Discource on the Origin of Inequality
● Social Contract
● Emile, On Education
● Reveries of a solitary walkers
● and much more
Discourse on the arts and Sciences
• Prize competition on the establishment of the arts and sciences that contributed to the purification
of morality, Rousseau finds this advertisement of this prize and wants to answer that the arts and sciences did not
better morality and in fact did the opposite
• Promotheus receiving the fire and warning the satyre is engraved “you do not know it”
● Rousseau wins the Prize
● Reputation started over this book
Discourse on the arts and Sciences
which was awarded the prize by the Academy of Dijon in the year 1750 on this question, which the Academy itself
proposed,
Has the restoration of the sciences and the arts contributed to refining moral practices?
, § Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor illis. Ovid
§ Decipimur specie recti: we are deceived by the appearance of that which is right
Discourse on the arts and Sciences - why does Rousseau calls himself a “vulgar man”
• Vulgur roots from vulgus meaning common people
• By calling hmself a vulgar man, what he is is something he has in common with all others
What is the role and place of philosophy?
What Roususeau is saying is that to be moral you need no special characteristic, the capacity to be moral is in
everyone and you do not need anything other than being human to have it
in the context of its time, this is revolutionary. At the time Immanuel Kant was struck by Rousseau’s claim on morality.
The question is what can be a model for human beings today (Socrates? Newton?)
Ignorance is preferable to the cultivation of knowledge, since that cultivation is likely to lead to more errors than
truths-"surely there are more errors in the Academy of Sciences than in a whole nation of Hurons" (Emile
(III) v,483)-and these errors are more likely to prove harmful than the truths profitable.
Discourse on Origin of Inequality
• Prize Question = What is the origin of all men and is it acquired by Natural Law? Rousseau makes
his own question
• Didn’t win prize
Outline of the structure of Discourse on Origin of Inequality
Title page and engravings
Dedication
Three gateways
Preface
Introduction
Distinction of two kinds of inequality
Critique of other hypotheses about the state of nature
Methodology
Setting the scene for the subject matter of the piece
Part I: Humans in the state of nature
Description of the physical aspects of the human
Metaphysical and moral aspects of the human
Metaphysical aspect
Origin of human passions
Difficulties re origin of language
Hypotheses as to the origin of language
The moral aspect
Moral qualities of natural man
Possible consequences
Conclusion of the first part
Part Two: the causes of life in society
Introduction: main thesis on property
First causes
First revolution: families
Appearance of primitive society: consequences of life
Central Question of Discourse on Origin of Inequality
(1712-1778)
Biography of Rousseau
• Born in 1712
• Born in Geneva: citoyen du haut/citoyen du bas
● In his texts he wants you to get to know him to see what type of political theorist he is
● Romantic, has romantic affairs
● Secretary to french ambassador to Venice
● Loves music!
● In Paris, what mattered in class society is if you are interesting. Rousseau, from the provinces, gets invited
to intellectual meets
● Becomes friends with one of the most important philosophers: e.g. Invited by David Hume to go to England,
develops strong friendship. Rousseau feels used by Hume who kept inviting people to meet Rousseau
(building clout) and they part ways
● Develops bladder problems in elderly life
● Dies in 1778
In Geneva, Switzerland there is a statue of Rousseau
1794 Rousseau is disintered from his grave in Geneva and moved to France during the French Revolution due to his
influence in the Enlightenment which in turn influenced the French Revolution
Rousseau as a Musician
Le Devin Du Village - praised by King…
Context of music scene: Was French Opera better than Italian? Rousseau preferred Italian Opera because he
thought the Italian language was better.
Rousseau’s Books
• Discourse on the Arts and Sciences
• Discource on the Origin of Inequality
● Social Contract
● Emile, On Education
● Reveries of a solitary walkers
● and much more
Discourse on the arts and Sciences
• Prize competition on the establishment of the arts and sciences that contributed to the purification
of morality, Rousseau finds this advertisement of this prize and wants to answer that the arts and sciences did not
better morality and in fact did the opposite
• Promotheus receiving the fire and warning the satyre is engraved “you do not know it”
● Rousseau wins the Prize
● Reputation started over this book
Discourse on the arts and Sciences
which was awarded the prize by the Academy of Dijon in the year 1750 on this question, which the Academy itself
proposed,
Has the restoration of the sciences and the arts contributed to refining moral practices?
, § Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor illis. Ovid
§ Decipimur specie recti: we are deceived by the appearance of that which is right
Discourse on the arts and Sciences - why does Rousseau calls himself a “vulgar man”
• Vulgur roots from vulgus meaning common people
• By calling hmself a vulgar man, what he is is something he has in common with all others
What is the role and place of philosophy?
What Roususeau is saying is that to be moral you need no special characteristic, the capacity to be moral is in
everyone and you do not need anything other than being human to have it
in the context of its time, this is revolutionary. At the time Immanuel Kant was struck by Rousseau’s claim on morality.
The question is what can be a model for human beings today (Socrates? Newton?)
Ignorance is preferable to the cultivation of knowledge, since that cultivation is likely to lead to more errors than
truths-"surely there are more errors in the Academy of Sciences than in a whole nation of Hurons" (Emile
(III) v,483)-and these errors are more likely to prove harmful than the truths profitable.
Discourse on Origin of Inequality
• Prize Question = What is the origin of all men and is it acquired by Natural Law? Rousseau makes
his own question
• Didn’t win prize
Outline of the structure of Discourse on Origin of Inequality
Title page and engravings
Dedication
Three gateways
Preface
Introduction
Distinction of two kinds of inequality
Critique of other hypotheses about the state of nature
Methodology
Setting the scene for the subject matter of the piece
Part I: Humans in the state of nature
Description of the physical aspects of the human
Metaphysical and moral aspects of the human
Metaphysical aspect
Origin of human passions
Difficulties re origin of language
Hypotheses as to the origin of language
The moral aspect
Moral qualities of natural man
Possible consequences
Conclusion of the first part
Part Two: the causes of life in society
Introduction: main thesis on property
First causes
First revolution: families
Appearance of primitive society: consequences of life
Central Question of Discourse on Origin of Inequality
