Introducing Rousseau

Illustrated guide to the crucial French philosopher who denied being a philosopher at all

'I am like no one else in the whole world...' Thus begins Jean-Jacques Roussea's defiant Confessions- an autobiography of astounding psychological insight.

Musician, poet, novelist and botanist, but above all, a philosopher who firmly denied being one, Rousseau was the first to ask: What is the value of civilization? His answer - that civilization corrupts natural goodness and increases social inequalities - shocked his Enlightenment contemporaries and still challenges us today.

Did Rousseau inspire the French Revolution? Can Romanticism, psychoanalysis and Existentialism all be traced back to him? Introducing Rousseau presents a maverick thinker whose ideas revolutionized our understanding of childhood, education, government, language and much else.

Dave Robinso's clear and concise account of Roussea's ideas, engagingly dramatized by Oscar Zarat's illustrations, guides the reader through Roussea's turbulent life of lost innocence, persecution and paranoia.

About The Author

Dave Robinson has taught philosophy for many years and is the author of numerous Introducing titles. He is now a part-time lecturer in Critical Studies and lives in Devon.

Oscar Zarate is one of the UK's leading graphic artists. He has illustrated numerous Introducing titles. His graphic novel A Small Killing won the Will Eisner Prize.