USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Rousseau believed that the so called progress in the arts and sciences created by enlightenment writers and thinkers led people away from leading the virtuous life. He linked cultural progress with moral decadence.

Detailed explanation-2: -Rousseau’s thought stemmed from his notion of human nature. In contrast to some of his forerunners and contemporaries (such as Montesquieu and Thomas Hobbes), he believed that humans possessed a natural goodness and that caring properly for oneself did not exclude concern for the welfare of others.

Detailed explanation-3: -Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential thinkers during the Enlightenment in eighteenth century Europe. His first major philosophical work, A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, was the winning response to an essay contest conducted by the Academy of Dijon in 1750.

Detailed explanation-4: -Rousseau repeatedly claims that a single idea is at the centre of his world view, namely, that human beings are good by nature but are rendered corrupt by society.