

I'm a specialist in French history, particularly the history of the 18th century, the early 19th century, which is to say the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and Napoleon. I'm a professor of history at Princeton University. The book just, you know, invented so much of, of the modern, of the modern mindset, if you want to call it that. This autobiography was called Confessions.ĭavid Bell: It's such a, a book that seems to be at the, at the starting point for so much of modern culture, for so much of, not just of modern culture, but of the way we, we think today in Western societies. In his later years, he wrote a detailed account of his life to help explain how his own experiences shaped his personality, views, neuroses, and imperfections. Rousseau believed that society has an enormous influence on human development and behavior. He was a philosopher, writer, and music composer in the 18th century. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Zachary Davis: Jean-Jacques Rousseau led an interesting life. Above all, Confessions is Rousseau's search, through every resource of language, to convey what he despairs of putting into words: the personal quality of one's own existence.Ībout the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe.

The book vividly illustrates the mixture of moods and motives that underlie the writing of autobiography: defiance and vulnerability, self-exploration and denial, passion, puzzlement, and detachment. In trying to explain who he was and how he came to be the object of others' admiration and abuse, Rousseau analyses with unique insight the relationship between an elusive but essential inner self and the variety of social identities he was led to adopt. In his Confessions Jean-Jacques Rousseau tells the story of his life, from the formative experience of his humble childhood in Geneva, through the achievement of international fame as novelist and philosopher in Paris, to his wanderings as an exile, persecuted by governments and alienated from the world of modern civilization. University of Toronto Schools Technology Supplies.University of Toronto Schools Stationery.Toronto Prep School Technology Supplies.Toronto Prep School Merch & Gym Uniforms.Ontario Institute - Studies in Education.Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education.
