The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Dover Thrift Editions) - Softcover

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486780422 ISBN 13: 9780486780429

Publisher: Dover Publications, 2014

Synopsis

Only a few popular autobiographies existed before philosopher, author, and composer Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) published his Confessions. Rousseau wrote treatises on education and politics as well as novels and operas, and as one of the most influential and controversial of the Enlightenment thinkers, he inspired the leaders of the French Revolution. His memoir is regarded as the first modern autobiography, in which the writer defined his life mainly in terms of his worldly experiences and personal feelings.
These memoirs constitute the main source of Rousseau's reputation as a leader in the transition from eighteenth-century reason to nineteenth-century romanticism. His emphasis on the effects of childhood experiences anticipates the psychology of Sigmund Freud, and his conviction that the individual is worthy of account forms a major contribution to progressive social and political thought. The book has inspired many imitations in autobiography, fiction, and poetry, and it has influenced the works of Proust, Goethe, Tolstoy, and countless others.

About this title

About the Author

Philosopher, author, and composer Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) wrote treatises on education and politics as well as novels and operas. One of the most influential and controversial of the Enlightenment thinkers, he inspired the leaders of the French Revolution and bridged the transition from 18th-century reason to 19th-century romanticism.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0486780422
• ISBN 13: 9780486780429
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 704