ROUSSEAU, JEAN-JACQUES

born June 28, 1712, Geneva, Switz. died July 2, 1778, Ermenonville, France French philosopher, writer, and political theorist whose treatises and novels inspired the leaders of the French Revolution and the Romantic generation. Rousseau was the least academic of modern philosophers and in many ways was the most influential. His thought marked the end of the Age of Reason. He propelled political and ethical thinking into new channels. His reforms revolutionized taste, first in music, then in the other arts. He had a profound impact on people's way of life; he taught parents to take a new interest in their children and to educate them differently; he furthered the expression of emotion rather than polite restraint in friendship and love. He introduced the cult of religious sentiment among people who had discarded religious dogma. He opened men's eyes to the beauties of nature, and he made liberty an object of almost universal aspiration. born , June 28, 1712, Geneva died July 2, 1778, Ermenonville, Fr. French philosopher, writer, and political theorist whose treatises and novels inspired the leaders of the French Revolution and the Romantic generation. A brief account of Jean-Jacques Rousseau follows. For a full biography, see Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. After a Calvinist childhood, Rousseau emigrated to Turin (1728) and became a Roman Catholic. From 1733 until 1740 he lived with Mme de Warens in Chambry, Fr.; during this period he became a diligent reader and began to write. Rousseau went to Paris in 1742 seeking fame and fortune, but for years had no success. He was invited to read his scheme for musical notation to the Acadmie des Sciences but nothing came of it; he spent a year, from September 1743 to August 1744, in Venice as secretary to the French ambassador there. He returned to Paris and early in 1745 took up with Thrse Levasseur, a servant at the hotel where he was staying. He supported her for the rest of his life and had five children by her, who were all sent to a foundling hospital. In disposing of his children in this way, he was doing what was often done at that time. He eventually married Levasseur in 1768 in a civil ceremony. In the late 1740s and early '50s Rousseau devoted much energy to music. His opera Le Devin du village (1752, The Cunning-Man) was performed to great acclaim at Fontainebleau in 1752. Rousseau became an ardent champion for the superiority of Italian over French music. Shortly after returning to Paris, Rousseau met and established a friendship with Denis Diderot, then still a young philosopher going through an intellectual evolution from Skepticism to Materialism; Diderot was to have a profound influence on Rousseau. Indeed, it was Diderot who encouraged him to compete for the prize offered by the Academy of Dijon in 1750 for an essay on the question whether the restoration of the sciences and the arts had tended to purify morals. Rousseau's essay Discours sur les sciences et les arts (1750; Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts) won first prize and propelled its author to fame. The essay was a bold attack on the arts as instruments of propaganda and sources of greater wealth in the hands of the rich. It provoked a series of violent disputes that continued for three years following its publication. In 1754 Rousseau ventured to reveal his true political thoughts, again in response to a question raised by the Academy of Dijon, concerning the origin of inequality among men. In his Discours sur l'origine de l'inegalit (1755; Discourse on the Origin of Inequality) Rousseau gave a hypothetical description of man's natural state, proposing that, although unequally gifted by nature in individual endowments, men at one time were in fact equal. But they lived apart from one another. Inequality arose only when men began to form society and to compete with one another. Rousseau did not, however, advocate a return to the state of nature; indeed, he knew that that was impossible. Yet in some of his later writings he suggested ways in which injustices resulting from social inequality could be minimized. Rousseau visited his native Geneva in 1754, reverted to Protestantism, and renewed his citizenship rights. In 1756 he moved from Paris to Montmorency where he began work on a novel, Julie: ou, la nouvelle Hlose (1761; Julie: or, The New Eloise), which became enormously popular. mile: ou, de l'ducation (1762; Emile: or, On Education) and Du Contrat social (1762; The Social Contract) were both condemned by the Parlement of Paris, and Rousseau was forced to seek asylum in Switzerland, all of which provoked Voltaire to write Le Sentiment des citoyens (1764; The Feeling of the Citizens). After renouncing his citizenship in Geneva, Rousseau moved to England for a year but quarrelled with his benefactor David Hume and returned to France incognito in 1767. To justify himself he began writing his autobiography, Confessions, which was published posthumously in 1782. Additional reading Bibliography Jean Snelier, Bibliographie gnrale des oeuvres de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1950), is still the best available source. Thophile Dufour, Recherches bibliographiques sur les oeuvres imprimes de J.J. Rousseau, 2 vol. (1925, reprinted in 1 vol., 1971), is not entirely superseded by Snelier's work. Albert Schinz, tat present des travaux sur J.-J. Rousseau (1941, reprinted 1971), includes publications in languages other than French. Peter Gay, The Party of Humanity (1963, reissued 1971), contains a critical bibliography in English of Rousseau and his contemporaries. Socit Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Geneva, Annales (irregular), published since 1905, contains reviews of all important publications in several languages, concerning Rousseau. Hermine de Saussure, Rousseau et les manuscrits des Confessions (1958), and tude sur le sort des manuscrits de J.-J. Rousseau (1974), provide information on the whereabouts of Rousseau's manuscripts. Biographies Jean Guhenno, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 2 vol. (1966; originally published in French, 194852; new ed. 1983), is still the most comprehensive biography. Lester G. Crocker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 2 vol. (196873), is a detailed but somewhat hostile biographical study; as is Frederick C. Green, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: A Critical Study of His Life and Writings (1955, reprinted 1970). Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, La Vie et les ouvrages de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, ed. from the author's unfinished manuscript by Maurice Souriau (1907), is the only biography by an author who knew Rousseau personally. Louis J. Courtois, Chronologie critique de la vie et des oeuvres de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1924, reprinted 1973), sets out the events of Rousseau's life in chronological order; as does, on a smaller scale and in English, George R. Havens, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1978). Maurice Cranston, Jean-Jacques: The Early Life and Work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 17121754 (1983), is based on original manuscript sources but covers only the first 42 years of Rousseau's life. William H. Blanchard, Rousseau and the Spirit of Revolt (1967); and Jacques Borel, Gnie et folie de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1966), are both Freudian biographies; while Ronald Grimsley, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: A Study in Self-Awareness, 2nd ed. (1969), discusses the psychological aspects of Rousseau's Confessions from a more philosophical perspective. Daniel Mornet, Rousseau, l'homme et l'oeuvre, 5th ed. (1967), sets out to correct many popular misconceptions about Rousseau's life and work. Gaspard Vallette, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Genevois (1911); and J.S. Spink, Jean-Jacques Rousseau et Genve (1934), investigate Rousseau's origins in Geneva. Ren Hubert, Rousseau et l'Encyclopdie: essai sur la formation des ides politiques de Rousseau, 17421756 (1928), examines Rousseau's relations as a young man with the Philosophes of Paris. Julien Tiersot, J.-J. Rousseau, 2nd ed. (1920, reprinted 1978), is one of the rare studies of Rousseau's career as a reformer of music. Henri Guillemin, Un Homme, deux ombres: (Jean-Jacques, Julie, Sophie) (1943), discusses Rousseau's relationships with women as reflected in his novels. Elizabeth A. Foster, Le Dernier Sjour de J.J. Rousseau Paris (1921), is an account of Rousseau's last years. Philosophy Ronald Grimsley, The Philosophy of Rousseau (1973), provides a clear scholarly introduction to Rousseau's philosophical ideas. Other useful introductory commentaries are Ernest Hunter Wright, The Meaning of Rousseau (1929, reissued 1963); and J.H. Broome, Rousseau: A Study of His Thought (1963). Ernst Cassirer, The Question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1954, reprinted 1963; originally published in German, 1932), is an influential study, written from a Kantian perspective; and Charles William Hendel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Moralist, 2 vol. (1934, reissued 1962), is a longer study reaching much the same conclusions. Robert Derath, Le Rationalisme de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1948, reprinted 1979), which opened a new phase in Rousseau's scholarship, reaffirms Rousseau's place in the Cartesian tradition. Pierre Burgelin, La Philosophie de l'existence de J.-J. Rousseau, 2nd ed. (1973), places Rousseau between Pascal and Kierkegaard. Bernhard Groethuysen, J.-J. Rousseau (1949), demonstrates Rousseau's importance from the point of view of 20th-century philosophy. Marc F. Plattner, Rousseau's State of Nature: An Interpretation of the Discourse on Inequality (1979), is a scholarly though brief study of Rousseau's concepts. Literature Lo Launay and Michel Launay, Le Vocabulaire littraire de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1979), provides a linguistic key to Rousseau's literary work. Jean Starobinski, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: la transparence et l'obstacle, new ed. (1971, reprinted 1976), is a seminal work by an academic psychologist turned literary critic. Marcel Raymond, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: la qute de soi et la rverie (1962), provides a subtle analysis of Rousseau's literary achievement. Philip E.J. Robinson, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Doctrine of the Arts (1984), is a pioneering attempt to depict Rousseau's ideas on literature and the other arts as a coherent system. Henri Gouhier, Rousseau et Voltaire: portraits dans deux miroirs (1983), is an impartial appraisal of the two literary giants of the French Enlightenment. Albert Schinz, La Pense de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1929), is an important study of Rousseau's Romanticism. Religion The most substantial study of Rousseau's religious ideas is still Pierre Maurice Masson, La Religion de J.-J. Rousseau, 3 vol. (1916, reprinted 1970). The best introduction to the subject in English is by Ronald Grimsley, Rousseau and the Religious Quest (1968). Pierre Burgelin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau et la religion de Genve (1962), examines Rousseau's debt to Calvinism; and J.F. Thomas, Le Plagianisme de J.-J. Rousseau (1956), studies his links to Roman Catholic philosophy. Albert Schinz, La Pense religieuse de Rousseau et ses rcents interprtes (1927), relates Rousseau's theological views to those of his contemporaries. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Religious Writings of Rousseau, ed. by Ronald Grimsley (1970), contains key passages in English translation. Political and social theory Robert Derath, Jean-Jacques Rousseau et la science politique de son temps, 2nd ed. (1970), interprets Rousseau's political ideas within the tradition of the natural law school. A similar view is taken by Alfred Cobban, Rousseau and the Modern State, 2nd ed. (1964). The suggestion that Rousseau must be seen as a forerunner of totalitarianism is put forward unambiguously by J.L. Talmon, The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy (1952, reissued 1970; U.S. title, The Rise of Totalitarian Democracy); and in a modified form by Judith N. Shklar, Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau's Social Theory (1969, reprinted 1985). John W. Chapman, RousseauTotalitarian or Liberal? (1956, reprinted 1968), considers arguments for and against Talmon's interpretation. A commentary that stays close to the text is Roger D. Masters, The Political Philosophy of Rousseau (1968, reprinted 1976); and an equally exacting study is John Charvet, The Social Problem in the Philosophy of Rousseau (1974). James Miller, Rousseau: Dreamer of Democracy (1984), stresses the democratic elements in Rousseau's political thought; while David Cameron, The Social Thought of Rousseau and Burke (1973), draws attention to resemblances between Rousseau's political ideas and those of the Irish conservative. Stephen Ellenburg, Rousseau's Political Philosophy: An Interpretation from Within (1976), studies different interpretations of Rousseau's views. Michel Launay, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, crivain politique, 17121762 (1971), depicts Rousseau both as champion of the popular classes in Geneva and as a theorist of the left; while Galvano Della Volpe, Rousseau and Marx (1978; originally published in Italian, 4th ed., 1964), presents Rousseau as a prophet of Communism. Raymond Polin, La Politique de la solitude: essai sur la philosophie politique de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1971), considers Rousseau as a philosopher rather than an ideologue; and Bronislaw Baczko, Rousseau, solitude et communaut (1974; originally published in Polish, 1970), gives new grounds for regarding Rousseau as one of the greatest social thinkers of modernity. Joel Schwartz, The Sexual Politics of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1984), analyzes Rousseau's views on the role of sexuality in social politics and morals. Shorter writings on his political thought are in Simon Harvey et al. (eds.), Reappraisals of Rousseau (1980); Maurice Cranston and Richard S. Peters (eds.), Hobbes and Rousseau (1982); R.A. Leigh (ed.), Rousseau After Two Hundred Years (1982); Comit National pour la Commmoration de J.-J. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques Rousseau et son oeuvre: problmes et recherches (1964); Michel Launay et al., Jean-Jacques Rousseau et son temps: politique et littrature au XVIIIe sicle (1969). Maurice Cranston Major Works: Novels Julie: ou, la nouvelle Hlose (1761; Julie: or, The New Eloise, trans. by Judith H. McDowell, 1968); mile: ou, de l'ducation (1762; Emile: or, On Education, trans. by Allan Bloom, 1979). Autobiographical works Rousseau juge de Jean-Jacques: dialogue (1780); Les Rveries du promeneur solitaire (1782; The Reveries of the Solitary Walker, trans. by Charles E. Butterworth, 1979); Les Confessions (178289; The Confessions, trans. by J.M. Cohen, 1953). Essays Discours qui a remport le prix l'Acadmie de Dijon en l'anne 1750; sur cette question propose par la mme acadmie si le rtablissement des sciences et des arts a contribu purer les moeurs (1750; Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, trans. by Roger D. Masters and Judith R. Masters, in The First and Second Discourses, 1964); Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'ingalit parmi les hommes (1755; Discourse on Inequality, trans. by Maurice Cranston, 1984); Du Contrat social (1762; The Social Contract, trans. by Maurice Cranston, 1968); Considrations sur le gouvernement de Pologne (1782; The Government of Poland, trans. by Willmoore Kendall, 1972); Lettres lmentaires sur la botanique (1780; Letters on the Elements of Botany, trans. by Thomas Martyn, 1785). Letters J.J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genve, M. d'Alembert, sur son article Genve dans le septime volume de l'Encyclopdie, et particulirement sur le projet d'tablir un Thtre de Comdie en cette ville (1758; Politics and the Arts: Letter to M. d'Alembert on the Theatre, trans. by Allan Bloom, 1960); Lettres crites de la montagne (1764). Collected works Oeuvres compltes, ed. by Bernard Gagnebin and Marcel Raymond (1959 ), will eventually be the definitive collected edition. Four carefully annotated volumes have been published so far. Oeuvres compltes, ed. by Michel Launay, 3 vol. (196771), is the most comprehensive contemporary edition, but far from complete. In some earlier editions of Rousseau's collected works, published at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, material can be found that has not been reprinted in the 20th-century collections.The Correspondance complte de Jean Jacques Rousseau: dition critique, ed. by R.A. Leigh (1965 ), of which 43 volumes have so far appeared, wholly supersedes the Correspondance gnrale de J.-J. Rousseau, 20 vol., ed. by Thophile Dufour and Pierre P. Plan (192434).