Thinkers
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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Genevan-born Enlightenment philosopher whose 1762 Emile, part novel and part treatise, argued that a child's natural goodness should be drawn out through a graduated, experience-based education shielded from society's corrupting influence rather than suppressed by rote instruction. Condemned by Paris authorities on its publication, it became a founding text of child-centered pedagogy.
Facts
Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionArgued in Emile that education should follow a child's natural stages of development away from the corrupting influence of society, shaping nearly every later theorist of child-centered education. 1 Notable WorkEmile, or On Education (1762) 1 Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Metaphysics Research LabRousseau entry, opening paragraphQuote, Rousseau entry, opening paragraph
Rousseau's own view of most philosophy and philosophers was firmly negative, seeing them as post-hoc rationalizers of self-interest, as apologists for various forms of tyranny, and as playing a role in the alienation of the modern individual from humanity's natural impulse to compassion.
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Metaphysics Research LabIn Category: ThinkersView the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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