"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."
Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Wikipedia, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Sanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The concern that dominates Rousseau’s work is to find a way of preserving human freedom in a world where human beings are increasingly dependent on one another for the satisfaction of their needs. This concern has two dimensions: material and psychological, of which the latter has greater importance. In the modern world, human beings come to derive their very sense of self from the opinion of others, a fact which Rousseau sees as corrosive of freedom and destructive of individual authenticity. In his mature work, he principally explores two routes to achieving and protecting freedom: the first is a political one aimed at constructing political institutions that allow for the co-existence of free and equal citizens in a community where they themselves are sovereign; the second is a project for child development and education that fosters autonomy and avoids the development of the most destructive forms of self-interest. However, though Rousseau believes the co-existence of human beings in relations of equality and freedom is possible, he is consistently and overwhelmingly pessimistic that humanity will escape from a dystopia of alienation, oppression, and unfreedom.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau inspired:
The French Revolution
The Age of Romanticism including the poetry of Wordsworth, Byron, and Keats
The philosophies of Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Karl Marx
The ethics of Leo Tolstoy and the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre
The psychology of Sigmund Freud and the educational theories of John Dewey
From his own day until today, Rousseau has been the most provocative and controversial of the Enlightenment writers. Originally an admirer of Voltaire and a close friend of Denis Diderot, Rousseau increasingly quarreled with and became alienated from both as their philosophies grew apart. His political thought has been lauded as a major influence on the American and French Revolutions but has also been condemned as a harbinger of 20th century totalitarianism. He influenced modern child education but also believed in a subservience of women that was even old-fashioned in his own time. His emphasis on human passion greatly influenced the sentimentalists and 19th century Romantics. His sentimental novel Julie, or the new Heloise was the largest selling novel of the 18th century. His Confessions is considered to be the first modern autobiography. His works can also be seen as forerunners of cultural anthropology and modern psychology.
Rousseau was also a music composer of some note who composed in the transitional period style between the Baroque and Classical eras.
Biography of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau's Major Social - Political Works
Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men
aka "The Second Discourse" (1754)
On the Social Contract; or, Principles of Political Rights (1762)
Emile, or On Education (1762)
Other Important Works
Julie, or the New Heloise (1761) One of the biggest selling books of the 18th century, Julie is
an epistolary novel about the unrequited love of a young noblewoman and her commoner teacher.
The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1769, published 1782) Considered the first modern
autobiography, Confessions was unique in that the first 1/3 of the book detailed Rousseau's life
before age 20 and told of the childhood development of his emotions and character formation.
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