n us. . .
A brief discussion of Rousseau's life will lead to an overview of his philosophical thought and work and the analysis of his political thought, and specifically his view of the social contract, in greater depth.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712. His father was a watchmaker. In 1725 the son was apprenticed for five years to an engraver, but he ran away after a time. The priest of Cofignon introduced the boy to the Baronne de Warens, who would figure prominently in his life. She influenced the boy to convert to Catholicism. In 1728 he was received into the Church at Turin in a hospice for catechumens. He underwent a period of wandering and an unsettled existence before he rejoined Mme. de Warens in 1731. During this time he tried by reading to make up for the deficiencies in his earlier education. For two years he acted as tutor to the children of a M. de Mably before going to Paris in 1742, but he was immediately sent to Venice in 1743 as secretary to the new French ambassador, the Comte de Montaigu. The two did not get along, and Rousseau was dismissed for insolence. He returned to France. He met Voltaire for the first time in 1745 and wrote articles on music for Diderot's encyclopedia in 1749. He wrote a prize-winning essay that was published in 1750; however, since it involved an attack on civilization and its corrupting effects, the established philosophers opposed him.
Rousseau had been disgusted for some time with life in Paris, and he thought of his native city and returned to Geneva. He was received back into the Protestant Church, primarily to regain Genevan citizenship rather than because of any strong religious views for either Catholicism or Protestantism. Rousseau lived in retirement at Montmorency from 1756 to 1762, a period of great literary activity. His most famous work, the Social Contract, appeared in 1761. The reaction to this work and others was hostile both in F...