Rousseau, Jean-Jacques  ( born June 28, 1712 , Geneva,
Switz.—died July 2, 1778 , Ermenonville, France )  Swiss-born
philosopher, writer, and political theorist whose treatises and
novels inspired the leaders of the French Revolution and the
Romantic generation.  Rousseau was the least academic of modern
philosophers and in many ways was the most influential. His
thought marked the end of the Age of Reason. He propelled
political and ethical thinking into new channels. His reforms
revolutionized taste, first in music, then in the other arts. He
had a profound impact on people’s way of life; he taught parents
to take a new interest in their children and to educate them
differently; he furthered the expression of emotion rather than
polite restraint in friendship and love. He introduced the cult
of religious sentiment among people who had discarded religious
dogma. He opened men’s eyes to the beauties of nature, and he
made liberty an object of almost universal aspiration.
Formative years  Rousseau’s mother di