Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1712 – 1778

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a Swiss philosopher and novelist who was an important figure in the Enlightenment. In his novels and discourses he claimed that civilization had weakened the natural liberty of mankind and that a truly free society would be the expression of the “general will” of all members of that society. He influenced later thinkers on both ends of the political spectrum.

Bio

Rousseau featured as the June 2021 OLL Birthday. Read it here.

Titles

Presidents, Kings, Tyrants, & Despots

Rousseau on the natural tendency of governments to degenerate into tyranny (1762)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau