Posted on November 20, 2022
What does Jean-Jacques Rousseau tell us? He says that we are born weak, that we are born stupid, without judgement; unprovided for, we need aid. This aid will come to us from education, which will cultivate us like plants. Self-reliant, observant of the world around us, we will learn the consequences of liberty, of choice. Removed from the corrupting effects of society, we will move back to our natural state, like the wild girl of the woods of Champagne; we will not follow rules; rather, we will learn from the consequences of our actions, and later, we may read literature and philosophy, when we have developed the capacity to judge.Like Emile, Sharon Kivland lives in the French countryside, though going frequently to London for discussion on philosophy, politics, and psychoanalysis. (more…)