Chapter 1, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: An Interesting Madman Summary and Analysis

Until the eighteenth century, the clerics were the major intellectuals. In the eighteen in century, secular intellectuals came into being. They weren't bound by religious beliefs but only by their own intellects. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the first of the modern intellectuals. Rousseau is credited with affecting thinking in five areas. He is credited with developing the modern ideas of education. He led the way in the revaluation of nature. Rousseau began the process of looking into the inner self and claimed that man is naturally selfish. This led to his critique of Capitalism which was his fifth great accomplishment. He disliked the concept of private property and competition.

Rousseau first became known when he entered and won an essay competition at the Dijon Academy of Letters in 1749. The essay became the...