Rousseau Take II
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (b. 1712—d. 1778) was a French philosopher and thinker who was born in Geneva, Switzerland. He is considered to be one of the most influential philosophers and thinkers of the 18th century and his ideas mark the end of the Age of Reason and the beginning of the Romantic era. He 's a forerunner of Romanticism, and promoted the ideas of the return to nature, the Natural Law, the Noble Savage and the importance of natural education. His works influenced the leaders of the French revolution, since Rousseau rejected the restraints placed on man in his contemporary society. He encouraged man to embrace his emotions and to step away from the pretentiousness of society ("Jean-Jaqcues Rousseau").
Rousseau 's Romanticism was apparent in his visions of a regenerated human nature. He found man to be ultimately good in nature, and that society 's influence and pretentiousness are what spoiled man 's essential goodness. Rousseau 's philosophy combined between the realistic and ideal, and he aspired to a better world. Rousseau introduced one of the principles that later on would be a major characteristic of Romanticism, that is: in art, the free expression of creativity is more important than following formal rules and traditions. His views were opposed to those of his contemporaries who preferred to put order to the chaos of human experience. His Romanticism further developed in his novel, The New Eloise, and is praised as one of his greatest works.