Rousseau's The Social Contract and Émile

Date

April–May 1762

Category

Culture, arts & philosophy

Region

France / Geneva

Era

Early Modern

Significance

In 1762 Jean-Jacques Rousseau published two influential works: The Social Contract in April and Émile in May.

The Social Contract opened with the declaration that man is born free yet everywhere is in chains, and argued that legitimate political authority derives from the collective 'general will' of the people, who remain sovereign. Émile set out a theory of education grounded in natural development and human goodness. Both works clashed with church and state: Émile's religious sections led to condemnation in Paris and Geneva, and Rousseau fled to avoid arrest. His emphasis on popular sovereignty, equality and authentic nature offered a more radical, democratic strand of Enlightenment thought that deeply shaped the French Revolution and modern political theory.

Empires active in April–May 1762

• Qing Dynasty
  1636 CE – 1912 CE
• British Empire
  1583 CE – 1997 CE
• Spanish Empire
  1492 CE – 1976 CE
• Portuguese Empire
  1415 CE – 1999 CE
• Russian Empire
  1721 CE – 1917 CE
• Mughal Empire
  1526 CE – 1857 CE

Related culture, arts & philosophy events

• The Enlightenment (Age of Reason)
  c. 1685–1815
• Locke's Two Treatises and Essay: social contract and empiricism
  1689 (published; dated 1690)
• Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie
  1751–1772 (first 17 text vols. + plates)
• Thomas Paine's Common Sense popularises the case for independence
  10 January 1776
• Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and 'What Is Enlightenment?'
  1781 (Critique) / 1784 (essay)
• Voltaire's Lettres philosophiques popularises English liberty
  1733 (English) / 1734 (French)

Further reading

The Story of Art

The wider story

The Story of Art

E. H. Gombrich

The best-selling art history ever written, from cave paintings to the modern age.

Get it on Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.