Jean+Jacques+Rousseau

Jean Jacques Rousseau **__BRIEF BIOGRAPHY, DATES, AND LOCATION__** Jean Jacques Rousseau was a philosopher that lived from 1712 to 1778 during the Enlightenment period. He was born and grew up in Geneva, Switzerland but later went to France in 1742 to pursue his interest in music. He stayed in Paris, where he started his family with Therese Levasseur but would sometimes go back home to Geneva. Although Rousseau spent most of his time in Paris, he also lived for smaller amounts of time in France's countryside, Italy, and England. He died in 1778 extremely crazy and insane, caused by the life he lived. Rousseau’s philosophy had an impact on the development of our present political thought. In his essay The Social Contract, Rousseau says basically that man is born equal to others, that he is born free. He felt that the formation of society and government interfered with this freedom and equality. As society grows, there is division of labor and that led to people needing to be interdependent on each other which leads to economic inequality. For example, in a large society you would need someone to be a doctor and someone to clean floors – two jobs of unequal pay and prestige. He felt that society was characterized by this interdependence, hierarchy and inequality. He believed in the general will of the people and felt that law should be based on that. If the people themselves made the rules, they would be more likely to obey them. However, he did not believe in government consisting of a group of representitives as this created inequality and would result in the people’s will not being followed and freedoms being lost. Rousseau also wrote on Education in “Emile” where he actually breaks down child development into three phases and, by so doing, advocates for learning specific to the abilities of that age group. He doesn’t describe specific techniques for teaching but focuses on the development of the child’s character and ethics which forms the basis for his adult life.

Jean Jacques Rousseau was a very iopinionated philosopher who did not keep his beliefs to himself. He believed: "He spent his life pursuing literary achievements, fame and fortune. " Jean Jacques Rousseau had the most success and achievements in the literary feild. He wrote many books detailing his beliefs, operas, and other musical pieces. His works include:
 * __ MAIN BELIEFS AND ACHIEVEMENTS __**
 * That good people are corrupted and made unhappy through their experiences and what they live through in their life.
 * That people will continue to be unhappy because of the "artificial and corrupt" society and that civilization corrupted humans.
 * That art and science advances are not beneficial for society and people
 * Formation of society was bad and harmful to people and their environment and believed that society was marked by interdependence, hierarchy, and inequality.
 * People should have the right to make their own rules (general will).
 * Because political authority disagreed with the premises of the //The Social Contract// and liberty was replaced with inequality, the government should be taken down.
 * Individual liberty is very important and should be maximized.
 * Education is essential and it would maximize a human's potential.
 * "Politics and morality should not be separated"
 * People should not own private property.
 * __Emile -__ This is a book written by Jean Jacques Rousseau explaining his thoughts on what education is and what it should be. He says that the student must be free with his thoughts and never have a teacher pressure them into being something they do not want to be. Emile was banned in Switzerland and in France because they considered it to be irreverent and heretical even though it was later to be considered to be a masterpeice.
 * __Discourse on the Arts and Sciences-__ Jean Jacques Rousseau's essay that said that arts and sciences were bad because they corrupted the individual. This was the start of his career because it was his first published piece.
 * __Discourse on the Orgin of Inequality-__ This was Rousseau's second discourse that answered the question "What is the origin of inequality among men, and is it authorized by natural law?". It was published in 1755. He talks about inequality both natural and physical. He also dedicated the book to Geneva, his hometown.
 * __The Social Contract-__ (see image below)
 * __Le Devin du Village -__ (see image below)
 * __Confessions-__ Confessions was written nine years after __The Social Contract__ and was an autobiography of his life. He talks of his sinfulness and how he is proud of it, because it makes him human. He even tells the readers that they should judge him, “Anyone…who examines with his own eyes my nature…and can think me a dishonorable man, is himself a man who ought to be choked."

__**PRIMARY SOURCES FROM JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU**__ 
 * The most famous quote from Rousseau is the following: “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” This quote is from his essay “The Social Contract”. What he means by this quote is that man is born free and good. Man becomes less free as society develops with its hierarchy of jobs, income, etc. With the development of society and its rules and representatives, the “general will” of the people gets lost in the process.
 * "We are born weak, we need strength; helpless we need aid; foolish we need reason. All that we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man's estate, is the gift of education."
 * "I am not made like anyone I have ever seen; I dare believe that I am not made like anyone in existence. If I am not superior, at least I am different".
 * __HISTORICAL IMAGES OF WORKS AND DISCOVERIES__**

= = Le Devin du Village is an opera and its libretto written by Jean Jacques Rousseau. This opera, first seen October 18th, 1752, was viewed by many, including King Louis XV, and was praised greatly. Le Devin du Village is about a couple that are in love but still have doubts as to if the other was cheating. They turned to their village to seek information and advice and soon find themselves secure, happy and happily married.

This is an image of "The Social Contract", one of Rousseau's most famous work. This book contains the famous quote, "Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains". In this book, Rousseau criticizes religion and the formation of society because he believes they take away aspects of an individual's freedom.

__**INFLUENCE ON CONSTITUTION OR BILL OF RIGHTS**__     Rousseau, as one of the renowned philosophers of the Enlightenment, had an influence on the formation of the American government, although it was a small one (as compared to John Locke, for example, another Enlightenment philosopher). The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights provide for the structure of our government, with its three main branches of government. This is contrary to what Rousseau preached as he believed that this type of structure did not provide for equality and freedom. He felt that laws should be created by all of the people directly as representation caused the general will of the people to be diluted or lost. In this sense, he did not influence the Constitution. Yet, he did support ideas included in the Constitution such as equality (“All men are created equal”) and the idea of a government that is dedicated to the common good of the people. He also supported the right to vote as well as religious toleration which are guaranteed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. His idea that all men were born with basic rights is also distinct in the Constitution (“right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”).

Make an Acrostic Poem Directions** Use detail from this page and from others on the internet to describe some of Jean Jacques Rousseau's achievements, beliefs, history and more.
 * __NOTEBOOK ACTIVITY__
 * 1) Use his whole name: Jean Jacques Rousseau
 * 2) For every letter in his name, have a complete sentence, describing one factual characteristic of his life.
 * 3) The lines do not have to rhyme but each should be one complete and thorough sentence.
 * 4) Each letter of his name should be about a different topic of his life. Do not repeat subjects or facts.
 * EXAMPLE

S:** Shines bright on hot summer doys. //Note: Your's must be to : JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU (not sun).//
 * U:** Usually the sun leaves skin feeling hot and sometimes even burnt.
 * N:** Nightime view of the sun is extremely rare.


 * __HERO POSTER__**

**JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU Recieved the Award of Greatest Philosopher ** Jean Jacques Rousseau is a hero to us all. His works, Emile, Social Contract, Confessions, Le Devin Du Village and more, are an inspiration to soceity and to other philosophers. His achievements changed Europe in a way that no other philopsophers could. Rousseau did what he felt was right, saying and doing stuff that was right, that others were just scared to do themselves. He defends the right of little children who do not have a voice for themselves. Other heroic acts by Rousseau include, his beautiful works of music that bring joy and happiness everytime we hear them. Jean is a hero to us all, overcoming an awful childhood. His mother died when he was young and his father ran away when he was 10 because he was in trouble with the law. While Rousseau was alive and working, he was idolized by the Jacobin club, the biggest and most powerful political club during the French Revolution. He is still thought to be a hero today by many philosophers who consider him to be one of the greatest philosophers of the Enlightenment. Also, our society today still values many of his ideas such as child education geared to specific ages which has been studied and expanded upon and is practiced today.


 * __ WANTED POSTER __**



<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: center;"> JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU

<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Has anyone seen this crazy lunatic of a philosopher? His crazy ideas and beliefs haunt us and leave us with nothing but discomfort and embarassment. Did you know he thinks that the arts and sciences are not good for the people? Then why does he himself write books and operas? /He can't even take care of his own illegitimate children, putting them in a instutution! Why should we let him have any say in our country? And how dare he criticize our educational system when he dropped out of school at 12? His puganacious, paranoid, and antisocial personality is not an attitude for a person of fame in our country and he should be punished for the words he speaks. He is also against our society itself and our beloved King saying, it is the will of the people that is important when we should all agree that it is the King's will we follow as he knows what is best for us. He even said that the people should make the rules! We know that the people are not educated and trained for that task and it is the King who knows how to make the right rules for the country! Why, if the people made the rules, it would be chaos! The King and His Royal Court were some of the many that believed Rousseau to be a criminal and traitor.
 * DEAD OR ALIVE**

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