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Jean Jacques Rousseau Accomplishments

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment. Although he was indeed well-known, he was not popular. Many of his beliefs offended most people. If you were to look at his ideas now, then you would think that he was an equal and just man. Unfortunately, citizens back then did not agree with him. Rousseau was born on June 28, 1712. His father, Isaac Rousseau worked as a clockmaker. The mother, Suzanne Bernard, died during childbirth. Isaac influenced his son to believe that their home was as marvelous as the cities in ancient Greece. In 1725, Rousseau Jr. started his apprenticeship under an engraver. Isaac was not there for his son. He was banished from his city after threatening someone with …show more content…

While he was under the care of baroness de Warrens, she hired him as his steward. Later, when he embraced his own personal beliefs as a philosopher, he became a writer, a musician, a composer, and a librettist. He was successful in most of these professions. His beliefs were written down in his books, but most were burned due to its contents offending religious people. One of his most famous and popular works as a librettist is the opera Le Devin du village, also known as The Village Soothsayer. This was so famous, it was performed at the later wedding of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. His life was indeed eventful, but during his last days, he was not favored by his country. He died July 2, 1778, in Ermenonville, France. French revolutionaries moved his remains to the Panthéon in Paris.Many of Rousseau’s ideas shaped what our society is now. One of his most influential beliefs is that “all men are equal”. This not only began the first stages of democracy, but also the road to same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, very few of his beliefs were welcome to the people of France. A majority of his books were burned because they went against religious beliefs, and thus led to Rousseau’s exile in several areas. His most famous work, however, was a book called The Discourse. It first started out as an essay, when Rousseau went to Vincennes to visit Denis Diderot in prison. He came across an announcement for an essay competition, telling people to

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571 Words | 3 Pages

Rousseau’s beliefs coincided with the beliefs of other Enlightenment thinkers. This is shown when he writes, “Duty and interest thus equally require the two contracting parties [the people and the government] to aid each other mutually” (Document 3). In that period of history, it was typical for people to be ruled by a monarch and they had very little say, if any, in the laws and policies that impacted their day to day life. Rousseau felt that the system was outdated and it made citizens feel as if they were living in someone else’s home rather than their own, so he theorized that by fabricating a system in which the government and the people are forced to work together, it creates a sense of unity and equality. This works because “ … an offense against one of its members is an offense against the body politic.

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812 Words | 4 Pages

Rousseau’s beliefs coincided with the beliefs of other Enlightenment thinkers. This is shown when he writes, “Duty and interest thus equally require the two contracting parties [the people and the government] to aid each other mutually” (Document 3). In that period of history, it was typical for people to be ruled by a monarch and they had very little say, if any, in the laws and policies that impacted their day to day life. Rousseau felt that the system was outdated and it made citizens feel as if they were living in someone else’s home rather than their own, so he theorized that by fabricating a system in which the government and the people are forced to work together, it creates a sense of unity and equality. This works because “ … an offense against one of its members is an offense against the body politic.

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1137 Words | 5 Pages

Rousseau’s main idea is that everyone should feel safe, happy, and equal even if it means sacrificing personal joy for the good of society. If these things are not present then the community does not work. The contract

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1162 Words | 5 Pages

He based his beliefs off of the ideas that all men are created good-natured, but society corrupts them. Unlike some other French Enlightenment thinkers, Rousseau believed that the Social contract was not a willing agreement. He also said that no man should be forced to give up their natural rights to a ruler. He came up with the solution that people should “give up” their natural rights to the community for the public’s good. He believed in a democratic government.

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710 Words | 3 Pages

When speaking of The French Revolution, Rousseau another thinker of the Enlightenment implemented the theory of the social contract. The Social contract created during the enlightenment period influenced the French Revolt in a major way. The social contract developed the idea that power of government should remain in the hands of the natives. Rousseau ideas provided the foundation for the stable governments in which the revolution would soon create. His philosophy stressed social equality and freedoms which eventually led to the overthrow of the monarchy of the French government at the time.

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532 Words | 3 Pages

Those who were considered as general leaders of the Enlightenment years were thought to be very intellectual and were held by most people in the highest regard throughout the colonial society. Some of the more common names spoken back then were of men such as “John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison” (Sage, 2013, para. 3). Jean-Jacques Rousseau was another prominent thinker as well. He believed that all “individuals had natural rights to life, liberty, and property, which even a king or pope could not deny” (Schultz, 2010, p. 69). Rousseau, along with countless others fought for the rights of the people while insisting that each person is afforded the lawful right to live their own life and to cast aside the authoritativeness of others if they saw fit in doing

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877 Words | 4 Pages

Rousseau, one of the most leading philosophers during the Enlightenment, had indeed left many of legendries behind. Not only his writings had caused many of the reactions at that time, but also influenced many writers’ aspects of the French Revolution and the overall understanding of inequality and the General Will. As one of the chief political theorists during the French Revolution who was also influenced by Rousseau’s ideas, Abbe Sieyes, published the pamphlet, “What is the Third Estate?” in 1789. This pamphlet was one of the documents that changed the world and lit the flame toward the French Revolution, as characterized by Joe Janes, a University of Washington professor (Janes).

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1583 Words | 7 Pages

One of the goals was to solve the problem of the “tyranny of the majority.” Rousseau sought to figure out how it was possible for citizens to be “both free and subject to laws to which they have not consented?” Can they “conform to wills which are not [their] own” but still be free? To Rousseau the answer was to frame the laws so that they reflect the “general will” and not the “will of all.” Only and only then the majority rule would in fact be just and not resolve in majority

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1168 Words | 5 Pages

Voltaire is most known for his philosophical ideas including, freedom of speech, love truth and pardon error, God is necessary for governments, the process of thinking logically, and the idea that we are all equal, but virtue separates us. Voltaire knew that it was dangerous to be right when the government was wrong, but governments need to permit freedom of speech among the people. This is, because the people of a country need to the government know when there needs to be a governmental change. François believed that virtue separates us from others, and so we are differentiated by how we treat one another. François Marie Arouet was sent to Tulle in 1715, and imprisoned twice, in 1717 and 1726.

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1384 Words | 6 Pages

Rousseau took advantage of his freedom by writing about is confessions. Writing about his confessions was equivalent to a girl writing in her diary, but he published his confessions for everyone to view and make their own opinions about his situations . Since he had so much freedom he was not worried about the consequences he could face if he published them or what help thought of it. “Let the trumpet of judgement sound when it will, I will present myself with this book in my hand before the Supreme Judge” (586 Rousseau). Rousseau was absolutely confident that he would not face any consequences and people would understand why he was doing this.

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1631 Words | 7 Pages

At the time of its publication, Rousseau had withdrawn from Paris and was living with a noblewoman. His location allowed him to write with little concern for the controversy surrounding his two previous Discourses, and the period was one of the most productive of his life (Delaney). He wrote as a way to address the ideas he had been accumulating from years traveling around Europe. His observations led him to argue that the rights of the people are violated in a civil society, and this should be changed under a social contract. After observing numerous governments, he concludes that people should only be governed by the Sovereign, a body with one collective will.

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695 Words | 3 Pages

The French Revolution was a success in terms of the Enlightenment because of the ideas of natural rights, individual freedom and freedom of speech. Jean Jacques Rousseau’s philosophy of natural rights has been portrayed in the Revolution extensively. Once

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1365 Words | 6 Pages

[hook] During the eighteenth century, after the revolution, a famous author, Rousseau, wrote an essay “Confession”, where he explored himself, even the most embarrassing moments he experienced, by telling readers how he behaved and exposing how he felt in that way. As he said readers should not feel shame of or blame him of what he did. Even we should encourage and send applause to him because his confession is not only about how he acted in the society but also what it did to him. Instead of judging him, the more valuable thing is to understand what motivated his action. Here is an interesting story in his life that he stole the ribbon and framed Marion.

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1355 Words | 6 Pages

The autobiography, The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, provides a vivid insight into the complicated, yet exhilarating, life of Rousseau. The beginning of his life was filled with misfortunes, such as the death of his mother which was quickly followed by a distraught and self-sabotaging attitude which his father adopted. This led to his father’s involvement in illegal behaviors and the subsequent abandonment of Rousseau. His mother’s death was the catalyst for his journey to meet multiple women who would later affect his life greatly. The Influence of Miss Lamberciers, Madame Basile, Countess de Vercellis, and Madam de Warens on the impressionable adolescent mind of Rousseau led to the positive cultivation of self-discovery and the creation of new experiences, as well as the development of inappropriate sexual desires and attachments towards women.

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810 Words | 4 Pages

The French Revolution was undoubtedly influenced by the political theorists of the Enlightenment. The ideas of two French political theorists in particular are easily seen throughout the French Revolution, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Baron Montesquieu. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s thoughts and texts, such as the Social Contract, instilled the entitlement of basic human rights to all men. Rousseau’s concepts on rights combined with Baron Montesquieu’s ideas on government provided the backbone of a radical movement in the French Revolution known as the Terror. When one delves into the beginnings of the French Revolution, the motives and actions of the National Assembly, and the Terror of the French Revolution, one can obviously see the influence of two Enlightenment political theorists, Rousseau and Montesquieu.

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