In 1755, he published 'Discourse on the Origin of Inequality'. Its central theme was that man had become corrupted by society and civilisation. Eschewing an easy life as a popular composer, in 1750 he published his first important work 'A Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts' (1750). They formed the core of the intellectual group, the 'Philosophes'. Rousseau reached Paris in 1742 and soon met Denis Diderot, another provincial man seeking literary fame. He left Geneva aged 16 and travelled around France, where he met his benefactress, the Baronnesse de Warens, who gave him the education that turned him into a philosopher. His mother died when he was young, and Rousseau was initially brought up by his father, a watchmaker.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva on 28 June 1712. For this edition Susan Dunn has provided a new translation of the Discourse on the Sciences and Arts and has revised a previously published translation of The Social Contract.© French writer and political theorist of the Enlightenment, Rousseau's work inspired the leaders of the French Revolution and the romantic generation.
Written from different, even opposing perspectives, these lucid essays convey a sense of the vital and contentious debate surrounding Rousseau and his legacy.
And Conor Cruise O’Brien takes on the “noxious,” “deranged” Rousseau, excoriated by Edmund Burke but admired by Robespierre and Thomas Jefferson. David Bromwich analyzes Rousseau as a psychologist of the human self. Bellah explores Rousseau’s attempt to resolve the tension between the individual’s desire for freedom and the obligations that society imposes. Gita May’s essay discusses Rousseau as cultural critic. Susan Dunn’s introductory essay underlines the unity of Rousseau’s political thought and explains why his ideas influenced Jacobin revolutionaries in France but repelled American revolutionaries across the ocean. This volume brings together three of Rousseau’s most important political writings- The Social Contract and The First Discourse (Discourse on the Sciences and Arts) and The Second Discourse (Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality)-and presents essays by major scholars that shed light on the dimensions and implications of these texts. His works are as controversial as they are relevant today. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideas about society, culture, and government are pivotal in the history of political thought.
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