Born 28th of June 1712 Rousseau was orphaned at the age of 10, and brought up by his devout Christian aunt and uncle, which spurred his hatred of authority/ the church His love of literature, and creative imagination were developed at a young age

1742, he settled in Paris, and became a close friend of fellow philosophe Diderot Spent many of his years in Paris occupied with music 1744 he met Therese le Vasseur, whom he later married During his time in Paris he published ‘Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts’, the opera ‘the Village Soothsayer’, and helped contribute the ‘Encyclopédie’, with Diderot

In 1754 he returned to Geneva, and converted to the Calvinist religion, which advocates the rule of god over all things In Geneva he wrote his most important works, such as ‘Discourse on Inequality’, ‘Heloise’, ‘Emile’ and the distinguished ‘Social Contract’ Returned to France, but was forced to flee under threat of persecution. Relocated to Switzerland, and then to England, where he lived with fellow enlightener David Hume for some time Began work on a number of other writings, and assumed a “celebrity” status following the publication of the ‘Social Contract’ Died on 2 July 1778 aged 66, after suffering a haemorrhage, his last novel “Confessions” was published posthumously

The most famous of Rousseau’s works was published in 1762 First line was renowned quote “man is born free…” In response to the “Discourse on Inequality”, the “Social Contract” provided instruction on how government should be formed/run The Contract is highly paradoxical and difficult to understand, even today Although difficult, at the time of its publication it sold very well

Rousseau’s two key principles were outlined in the ‘The Second Discourse (1754) ’ (or Discourse of Inequality) and the ‘Social Contract’ (1762). Rousseau’s two main beliefs were: The General Will The Natural State of Man

Life in society was corrupting – people are born kind, without impulse to do bad, but are changed from this ‘natural’ and superior ‘state of man’ by society’s oppression, private ownership and inequality In ‘Discourse’, Rousseau challenged and refuted France’s Estate system by naming two types of inequality: Natural Inequality – of strength, intelligence, etc. Artificial Inequality – of which the French system was based Rousseau states we cannot return to our natural state, and hence must reform our current system according to the General Will

In order for men to abstain from society’s corruption, and truly abide by political rules, they must agree to “The Social Contract” In this contract, they agree to live under the laws created by themselves and the people, or the “General Will”

The principle of the General Will was that: No man has any natural authority over another – so the basis of authority must be found in societal conventions Self preservation will be achieved through the joining of all in a General Will, and the instalment of a “single motive” The most important premise of the Social Contract lies in finding a balance between unity of the people as a whole force, while retaining the individuality of a person, so they remain free The General Will is always right and gives advantage to the people

Like many of the French philosophes, Rousseau did not support a complete revolution Instead, he advocated the need to separate the system to allow the general will to operate, to regulate laws and preside over the operation of society independently to the sovereign

One of the first to give a voice to the people, and to the General Will of the people, particularly members of the Bourgeoisie Rousseau’s representation of the common French people inspired a hefty proportion of the largest Estate to adapt a new way of thinking about their role in society, and the Bourgeoisie were greatly empowered by having such an intellectual articulate their points of view Therefore, Rousseau allowed the Bourgeoisie a rational angle at which they could argue the need for change, or base their revolution

While Rousseau died in 1788, prior to the revolution, his legacy survived the revolution through Robespierre Robespierre, a disciple of Rousseau, was a key revolutionary figure Following the overthrowing of the Ancien regime in 1789, Robespierre became the ‘de facto’ leader of a revolutionary tribunal, and was the force behind “The Reign of Terror”, a period of violence that occurred 15 months after the initial revolution Following the “Terror”, the Committee of Public Safety was set up, with Robespierre as its leader

Novel ‘Emile: or, on Education’ (1762) revolutionised the way children were taught Rather than learning through punishment, Rousseau advocated the need to teach through consciousness of action and consequence, and raised awareness of the developmental stages of children Influenced on the formation of the education system in post- revolutionary France - “child-centred education” Also an established author, Rousseau was responsible for beginning the period/genre of romanticism after his novel “Julie, or the New Heloise ”

Damrosch, Leo (2005). Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius. New York: Houghton Mifflin, p 24 William Doyle, “Origins of the French Revolution”, 1990, Second Edition, Oxford University Press pg 91 Peter Vansittart, “Voices of the Revolution”, 1989, Collins, pg 39 International World History Project, “Jean Jacques Rousseau ( ), ND, World History Project, USA, The Literature Network, “Jean Jacques Rousseau”, January 2009, The Literature Network, Terrasse, Jean. "Rousseau, Jean-Jacques." World Book Student 2009, Classic Reader, “Jean Jacques Rousseau”, ND, Wikipedia, Reign of Terror, 3/3/09, Wikimedia, Wikipedia, Maximilien Robespierre, 5/3/09, Wikimedia, Wikipedia, Jean Jacques Rousseau, 4/3/09, Wikimedia, Jacques_Rousseauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean- Jacques_Rousseau Celeste Friend, “Social Contract Theory”, 2006, The Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy,