Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile- Is it Attainable? - Nicholas Perrone H02

 "Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains." - Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Social Contract (1764).

    Throughout Rousseau's life, he philosophized ways to improve the human condition- the majority of his philosophies derive back to human nature. Rousseau believed that living a natural life would make people more benevolent and, therefore, would cause people to think more for others than themselves. By reading this article, James J. Delaney explains that "Rousseau understands society to be an invention" (Delaney 2024). Therefore, Rousseau deems the best way to understand humans is through their most natural state: a state of nature where no society or government bears authority over them. However, since Rousseau conceded that societies are inevitable, he urged societies to think through the general will of the people, which is represented by this article. This article explains the functions of the general will, what it is, and why Rousseau thought it was essential to harbor a successful society. These ideas derived from Rousseau's Social Contract (1764); however, he built on these ideas later in his life, one of the most critical facets being his educational ideas. 

    Susan Neiman's book, Why Grow Up, discusses Rousseau's educational ideas, specifically on how children should be raised to be completely free. Neiman starts this chapter by explaining that Rousseau claims that laws and the development of society have kept all men as children, which is an allusion to his Social Contract. Below is a quote Neiman included in her book that announces Rousseau's growing discontentment with men performing less than they could be due to laws and society.

   

                                                                                        

We were made to be men; laws and society have plunged us once more into childhood. The rich, the nobles, the kings are all children who, seeing that men are eager to relieve their misery, derive a puerile vanity from that very fact and are very proud of care that one would not give to them if they were grown men. (Emile, p. 85).

    Rousseau's statement is ironic because laws and society were supposed to revolutionize human life and make living more satiating, but he claims the opposite has followed. Therefore, he felt the need to write a book entitled Emile, or On Education. Attached here is a link that provides a thorough summary of Rousseau's book. Many argue that Rousseau's arguments for how a child should be raised are problematic. For example, Neiman explains in her book that Rousseau insists that developing mature moral character is done by denying a child the right to read and prohibiting the child from accepting anything society has to offer to the child. Rousseau believed that children had to do everything for themselves, not at the discretion of others. 

    Now that some of Rousseau's problematic, unpopular opinions have been shared, what exactly is Rousseau's book of Emile about? To answer this question, Rousseau explained that this book purports to be a record of an experiment in raising an ordinary boy under specific conditions that will allow him to be a genuinely free adult. Rousseau's vision of these conditions is difficult to obtain, especially in today's society. Emile is a marriage of fiction and Rousseau's philosophy that attempts to provide the basis for healing the divide between reason and nature, which Rousseau argues "gapes like an open wound" (Neiman 57). To touch on what was explained above, Rousseau argues that no child should read "Not because Rousseau despises them but because he adores them" (Neiman 60). Instead, Rousseau testifies that Emile should learn what interests him without the help of books and older authors deciding for him.

                                            

    Without children using books, Rousseau now faced an issue: How does a child learn? Rousseau answered this question by imploring that young children should learn by immersing themselves in nature. Doing this will achieve two things: highlighting their interests and helping children solve problems without anyone's assistance. Rousseau provides examples of how Emile would learn

His astronomy lesson takes place in the forest, where his tutor has taken him at twilight; Emile is hungry, and needs to learn the position of the stars to guide his way back home. He learns mathematics by figuring out what angle the ladder must be placed to pick the cherries, what height the rope must be to place a swing. (Emile, p. 160). 

    The above example illustrates how a child should learn according to Rousseau. However, some people have commented on their beliefs regarding Rousseau's opinion on how children should learn. This article is an honest blog post review of Rousseau's Emile. In the article, Roy Lotz explains that he likes the book's intent but that it is not representative of life today, nor will it likely never be. It indicates that Emile also extends "much further than education," conceding that Rousseau's beliefs may still have some implications today (Lotz 2018). For example, he likes the experimental teaching methods Rousseau describes, but he does not think it is feasible in an academic classroom setting- children would have to do that by their own will. Lotz's comments circle back to a central idea: Rousseau's understanding that this likely cannot be implemented in our world today. Instead, Rousseau urges humans to understand what a perfect education would look like, and he elucidates that the closer we are to Emile's education, the closer we are to an ideal world. 

    There are a lot of sources on the web that are significant in understanding exactly who Rousseau was and his beliefs. Understanding more about him and his previous works will help explain his theories regarding a child's perfect education, as described in Emile. Attached are two good links I recommend checking out for further understanding of Rousseau: click here and click here. These articles explain Rousseau's early life, political philosophies, and his societal beliefs in conjunction with some of his previously written works. 

    Attached here is a link to an educational YouTube video that provides a brief overview of Rousseau's Emile. 

    Researchers have also taken further steps to analyze Emile. This research article explains that Rousseau's writing of Emile is inadequate in showing that Emile has learned the skills to develop the conscious emotions of pity and justice. In this research paper, Wing Sze Leung discusses the limitations and relevance of Rousseau's Emile to today. Leung explains that Emile's treating others with respect is still highly relevant and vital today. However, some issues include unequal treatment and disparities of wealth in today's world that may limit a child from learning in the manner Rousseau proposed. Despite this, Leung concedes and claims that the insight into Emile's moral qualities is still relevant today, as she argues that people should uphold high morals to be respectful (Leung 2023).

    To conclude, Rousseau's Emile explains how a child should be educated to grow into an independently free man. However, some oversimplifications in Rousseau's work include the fact that today's world differs from Rousseau's view. Because times are changing, this begs the question of whether we could ever replicate the teaching styles Rousseau encouraged to have replicated in the future. I want to leave this question up to you, so I present you with a quote that Neiman ends this chapter with: 

What must be thought of that barbarous education which sacrifices the present to an uncertain future, which burdens a child by making him miserable in order to prepare him for I know not what happiness he may enjoy? ... Why do you want to fill with bitterness and pain those few years which go by so rapidly and can return no more for them than they can for you? (Emile, p. 79).

    These questions are important; I leave you with a question: How do we best prepare children for the future?