Philosopher · 1712 – 1778
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Little-Known Facts
- Rousseau composed music and wrote a successful opera, Le Devin du village, performed before the French king.
- His autobiographical Confessions is considered a landmark in the history of self-revealing personal writing.
Myths & Misconceptions
Did Rousseau invent the phrase 'noble savage'?
No. Rousseau argued that humans were naturally good before society corrupted them, but the popular phrase 'noble savage' was not his coinage and oversimplifies his view.