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Jean Jacques Rousseau

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From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Date: 20080424
Author:

Jean Jacques Rousseau , 1712-78, Swiss-French philosopher, author, political theorist, and composer.

Life and Works

Rousseau was born at Geneva, the son of a Calvinist watchmaker. His mother died shortly after his birth, his father abandoned him about a decade later, and his upbringing was haphazard. At 16 he set out on a wandering, irregular life that brought him into contact (c.1728) with Louise de Warens, who became his patron and later his lover. She arranged for his trip to Turin, where he became an unenthusiastic Roman Catholic convert. After serving as a footman in a powerful ...

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