Emile: On Education

Hailing from Switzerland, Rousseau has little use for the mores and culture of the French, especially in Paris, where the social whirl disgusts him: “France would be much more powerful if Paris were destroyed” (232). Rousseau admits that France has many good attributes, but their attitudes toward nature, education, virtue, and governance leave him cold. France will come back to bite Rousseau for his disrespect when it bans and burns his books Emile and The Social Contract and exiles him from the country. 

For Rousseau, nature is the source of wisdom and happiness, while society is the fall of man. From nature we learn truths valid throughout life. This affirmation causes Rousseau to suggest letting children begin their learning by “only see[ing] the physical world around him” (28). With nature, we grow strong and skillful under its tutelage; we thrive from its bounty, its beauty, and its purity. The best cure for the ailments and corruption of society is to return to the countryside, where nature applies its healing balms. A teacher of children should give them free rein to explore the natural world; the knowledge and wisdom they gain there far exceeds the faint wisdom of books.