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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Prophet of natural goodness and the general will — 'man is born free, and everywhere in chains.'
Overview
A Genevan philosopher and writer whose passionate, paradoxical work challenged the Enlightenment from within. Rousseau argued that humans are naturally good but corrupted by society and its inequalities, which arise with private property. In The Social Contract he sought a legitimate political order in which people, by obeying the 'general will' they collectively author, remain free while living together. His writings on education, feeling, and authenticity, and his own Confessions, helped launch Romanticism and shaped the French Revolution.
What they supported — and why
Natural goodness corrupted by society
SupportedHuman beings are naturally good and free; it is society — especially inequality and private property — that corrupts them.
WhyThe 'natural man' is self-sufficient and without vice; social comparison, dependence, and property breed pride, greed, and oppression.
The social contract and the general will
SupportedA legitimate society is one where citizens collectively author the laws they obey, following the 'general will' aimed at the common good.
WhyBy giving up natural liberty for a share in making the law, each obeys only himself and so remains free while gaining civil and moral freedom.
Popular sovereignty
SupportedSovereignty belongs inalienably to the people as a whole and cannot be represented away.
WhyLegitimate authority can only come from the community's own general will, so the people must remain the ultimate lawmaker.
Causes championed
- Human freedom and equality
- Popular sovereignty
- Authenticity and natural feeling
- Reform of education
Issues wrestled with
- Are humans naturally good or bad?
- How can we be both governed and free?
- What is the origin of inequality?
Hurdles faced
- His books were banned and burned; he fled persecution across Europe
- Quarrels with fellow philosophes and growing paranoia and isolation
Works & books
3 catalogued. Status shows how much survives to today.
The Social Contract
SurvivesHis theory of legitimate authority and the general will.
Emile, or On Education; Discourse on Inequality
SurvivesHis philosophy of natural education and his account of the origin of inequality.
Confessions
SurvivesA groundbreaking, intimate autobiography.
Read the texts free
20 of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s works are free to read in full — public-domain English editions on Project Gutenberg, matched from Gutenberg’s own catalogue.
Every edition online — Open Library catalogues 2,237 works & editions, 300 of them free to read in full.
The influence network
See Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the map →In their words
“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”
— The Social Contract
Legacy
His ideas of natural goodness, popular sovereignty, and authenticity reshaped politics, education, and culture and helped ignite the Revolution and Romanticism.
Follow their questions
This thinker is a stop on these paths through philosophy.
Further reading
Cross-checked against these authoritative references.