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Chapter 1, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: An Interesting Madman

• Rousseau is the first modern intellectual.

• He is credited with affecting thinking in five areas: developing the idea of modern education, revaluation of nature, the process of looking into the inner self, claiming that man is naturally selfish, and his critique on Capitalism.

• He dislike the concept of private property and competition, but his actions suggested he enjoyed having it.

• He first became known when he won an essay competition in 1749. The essay was the basis for his creed and he was famous by age 39.

• Rousseau was victimized by self-pity and sought pity from other, particularly aristocratic women, whom he used and mistreated.

• He maintained the mistress Therese for more than thirty years, but forced her to abandon all of their five children at orphanages as soon as they were born.

• He eventually turned most of his friends into enemies, but he...

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