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Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28 1712
– 2 July 1778) was a prominent French philosopher, writer, and composer during
his time. His political philosophies had an influence across Europe, which
brought him critical acclaim, and helped with the overall development of modern
political thought. In particular, he had a large influence on sociological,
philosophical, educational and cultural thought in the eighteenth century. In
regards to philosophy, Rousseau generally focused on political and social
philosophy.
Like other philosophers of his time, Rousseau used the
hypothetical idea of the state of nature as a guide for some of his major
philosophies and publications, such as his book The Social Contract. The
Social Contract outlines Rousseau’s belief that while people do give up
their natural rights to live in society, people do not give up their freedom in
society, unlike Hobbes who believed the opposite. Rousseau reasons that every
person lives free because of the general will. The general will is roughly defined
as something that is desired (in some capacity or another) by every person in
society for the sake of common good. In The
Social Contract, Rousseau states that, ideally, the general will is
essentially what legislators should be striving to appease. There are 3 levels
of general will: private will, collective will, and corporate will (according
to plato.stanford.edu). Simply put, Rousseau reasons that citizens who obey the
law are obeying their own wills, and as such are remaining free.
Rousseau also has an educational philosophy outlined
in his treatise titled Emile or Treatise on Education. His philosophy
is about a child’s development in regards to their moral compass and character
and how teachers should act accordingly. For example a teacher teaches early
on, and then becomes a trusted adviser later on in life. A tutor also has
control over how a child can come to interpret general will. He uses a
hypothetical boy named Emile. Emile’s purpose in growing up is to be able to
cope with the world around him through virtue and self-mastery, because of the
unnatural tendencies and imperfections society. In the treatise, he defined a
child’s development in 3 different stages. Stage 1 is from birth to 12 and
states a child is guided by emotion and impulses. Stage 2 is from ages 12 to
16, where the child starts to develop reasoning. Stage three is from age 16
onwards, when the child starts to develop into an adult.
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