An idealised version of Geneva, reinforced by the classical tradition of the ancient state, was the foundation of his whole conception of politics".
To understand Rousseau feelings it is necessary to appreciate the originality of his work, we need to look at what the society was like at that particular time. It would seem that social conditions at this point in time appeared to be stable.
"The reigning monarch was Louis XVI and like his father and grandfather before him believed in the divine right of kings to rule and governed without parliament however the aristocracy "s lavish lifestyle in the subsequent years left France almost bankrupt, but this did not become apparent until 1788. There were many people living in 18th Century France who had little idea of exactly what "France" was and who did not speak French. The society that Rousseau viewed, lived by rules made by the aristocracy and had little interest in the welfare of the common man". .
"The presiding thoughts in tradition were of an undeniable sense of social hierarchy and overwhelming conviction in monarchy intensely embedded in almost everybody. It made it possible for most of Rousseau's social group to take the existence of society for granted". .
Denis Diderot (an author of the French Encyclopaedia) influenced Rousseau through the intellectual group they shared and encouraged his writings.
"Together they formed the core of the intellectual group, the Philosophes.".
"There was strong debate amongst Rousseau's contemporaries about human rights, equality, liberty and the nature and legitimacy of government. Myth and superstition were contested by rational thought. This period was referred to, as the Enlightenment".
Rousseau was unlike the majority of his contemporaries, who were fully reconciled to the absolutist realities of eighteenth- century politics, and pinned their hopes on enlightened despotism, .
Rousseau explored these themes throughout his career and began to apply these principles to political issues particularly in " Du Contrat Social", his version of the Social Contract in which he provided an alternative society.
Philosophy was greatly effected by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau developed phenomena known as thy "self". ... Rousseau also wrote books. ... He also brought Henry David Thoreau into the light. Henry David Thoreau brought Emerson's ideas and took them a step farther. ...
Classical Economics and Industrialization School of Economics thought was begun at the late eighteen century with Adam Smith. Adam Smith had set many concepts and principles of classical economics in Britain. And his famous work Wealth of Nations was published in 1776. Smith argued that free com...
Malthus's father also had the tremendously uncommon opportunity to meet and be acquaintances with the not yet world wide known Rousseau and David Home (Thomas Robert Malthus). ... Secondly, David Richard's works contain elements of Malthus's theories (Malthus Thomas, Robert. ...
Grolier 186)," and his godfather was Jean Jacques Rousseau, the philosopher (Rickard np). ... His writings were, according to David Nicholls, an attempt to "demolish" their "utopian ideas (321)." ... A wealthy stockbroker, David Ricardo, wrote a book entitled Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, which took Malthus" ideas one step further. ...
David Hume is most commonly known as one of the most important philosophers to ever write in the English language. ... While in Paris Hume gained great esteem in Parisian literary circles and forged a friendship with eminent French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. In 1765 Hume returned to England with Rousseau but the two fell out of favor with each other and produced very public criticisms of one another. ...
Martin Luther King, Jr. who was also considered to be one of the greatest men who ever lived, wrote in his first book, Stride Towards Freedom, that The intellectual and moral satisfaction that I failed to gain from the utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill, the revolutionary methods of Marx and Lenin, the social contracts theory of Hobbes, the "back to Nature" optimism of Rousseau, and the superman philosophy of Nietzsche, I found in the non-violent resistance philosophy of Gandhi. ... During one of his many jailing, Gandhi read the book Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1866). ...
The Enlightenment is a name given by historians to an intellectual movement that was main period in the Western world during the 18th century. The Age of Enlightenment was a period that took place after the Renaissance and is characterized by profound changes in the mind and attitude, and lives of m...
His work is concerned with a variety of fields ranging from psychology to political science and the synthesis of the liberal ideals of philosophers such as Rousseau and Herbert while adding the equally important aspect of practicality or utilitarianism. ... David Halliburton (1997)quotes Dewey on his views of environment as presented in "Democracy and Education" (1916): "Human nature exists and operates in an environment. ...
