Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
1
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
Bradley A. Davis
School of Education, Liberty University
Author Note
Bradley A. Davis
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bradley A. Davis
Email: [email protected]
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
2
Abstract
Rousseau famously stated that men are born free, but is everywhere in chains (Smith, 2020). The
quote has been dissected for centuries with no concrete definition as to what he meant or for
whom he meant it. But the essence of the quote is as relevant in 2023 as it was in the mid-18th
century when it was said, especially in America. This paper will attempt to look at Rousseau’s
impact on education during his time and will attempt to show that education has lost its way in
our time, at least from Rousseau’s perspective. How do we break the chains in the 21st century
and get education back to what its true purpose is supposed to be? Let’s try and answer that
question.
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
3
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1712 (Koops, 2012). During his life,
he would go on to establish some of the most influential ideas about psychology and education
that the world had ever seen. However, it was his work with education that remains pivotal and
fascinating even today. From Emile to The Social Contract, Rousseau has given humanity plenty
to discuss and dissect for the past 300 years. For Rousseau, he believed that humanity must
connect with nature to truly learn who they are and what their true purpose should be. It was
about the individual more than society. He believed that society was the problem and would
continue to be the problem until the culture changed. Throughout his life, he kept returning to the
thought that people are good by nature but have been corrupted by society and civilization
(Isanbor, 2023). This idea also includes education. Jean Jacques Rousseau would argue that our
current education system in the United States prioritizes society over the individual. Through the
standardization of education, government and society have made education about economic gain
instead of self-actualization.
Background and Cultural Context
To truly understand Rousseau, it is helpful to look at what he believed the individual's place was
in society and what society's responsibility was to the individual. Rousseau believed that the
citizen ought to be a law-abiding member of a moral community whose loyalty is to the
contractual agreement (Cullen, 2007). In other words, we all live in and under a social contract.
These are the ideals, customs, and laws that society agrees to live under. There is no written
contract or signatures involved, but it represents a philosophical set of principles that society
agrees to for society to function orderly and humanely. For Rousseau, it was the struggle to be
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
4
both. How do you be a “man” but at the same time be a “citizen”? Man’s desires are sometimes
not conducive to society's desires. It was this idea that Rousseau thought about, wrote about,
professed about, and struggled with daily. Europe during the 1700s was a time of transformation
as it related to education, religion, technology, and politics. There was a press toward doing what
was best for the whole but that ran counter to Rousseau’s idea that the most important part of
society was the individual.
Philosophy of Education
Rousseau had a very interesting view of education for his period in history. It ran counter
to what mainstream society was trying to do at the time. Society was conforming to this idea that
what was good for the masses was good for all. Rousseau did not believe that at all and even
broke down education and development into 5 stages. Isanbor (2023) states that Rousseau
developed five stages of development: infancy (one to five years), childhood (five to twelve
years), early adolescence (twelve to fifteen years), late adolescence (fifteen to eighteen years),
and adulthood (twenty years and above). Each state had its particular developmental
characteristics, and it was very much on the individual to successfully encapsulate each phase of
the process.
It is also helpful to break down a few specific areas of Rousseau’s educational philosophy
so one can see what he truly believed. Isanbor (2023) states that first, Rousseau believed that
humans are born naturally good, but society corrupts them. Second, he believed that education
should be a very specific approach that is based on each individual, this ran counter to the
approach of a one-size-fits-all model that was prevalent in the 18th century. Third, Rousseau
stressed the importance of a good moral education. There was a need for a religious context to
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
5
the education of the child and through this approach, a student could find their moral compass,
which was essential to a good education. By looking at all of these practices and philosophies,
Rousseau had a basic blueprint for what education should look like, at least for him.
Theory to Practice
For Rousseau, the individual was the building block of society. It was more important for the
individual to succeed and to experience self-actualization than anything. If the individual
succeeded in being the best version of themselves, then that would carry over into society and
make society better as a whole. It is important now to transition from Rousseau’s philosophy to
what the United States model has done and how it has run contradictive to Rousseau's. As the
system of education in the United States has become more standardized, opportunities for
children to explore their natural curiosities become less frequent. This creates conflict between
what a child feels naturally drawn to and what society pressures the child into (Peckover, 2012).
The current education system in the United States took a major shift at the beginning of the 21st
century with President Bush signing the No Child Left Behind Act into law. This created a
standards-based system of educating our students. It became a one-size-fits-all model where
every student would essentially learn the same standards in each subject. American children have
lost their autonomy with the advent of standards-based education. It has removed the most
important part of the educational process and that is the ability for the individual to reach the
self-actualization that Rousseau argued so much for almost 300 years ago. U.S. education now
values society and what each individual can do FOR society instead of what society can do for
the individual. Happiness is no longer the goal of education and life in general, it is financial
success and stability and how much money one can make that is the primary target. As long as
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
6
we base our happiness on monetary possessions, it is impossible to meet the goal of self-
actualization. Today, Rousseau would say that we are no longer educating our children, we are
training them (Peckover, 2012).
Perspectives on Diversity
During Rousseau’s time, diversity wasn’t what it is today. However, Rousseau did believe
wholeheartedly in the individual and the success thereof. He did not specify that only men or
women or whites could reach self-actualization. He never mentioned diversity at all in many of
the readings for this paper. Rousseau is a democratic realist who accepts human imperfection and
eschews any ultimate solution to the human problem (Cullen, 2007). When he used the term
“man”, it can be ascertained that he meant humanity. 18th-century Europe wasn’t overly diverse,
as women had their place in society. One can only think though that Rousseau would say that all
of humanity deserves to be happy and to find the place that makes them happy and thus will help
society.
Critical Analysis
In this paper, the focus has been on Jean Jacques Rousseau, his philosophy of education,
and his view of the world as it related to our place in it. Rousseau was a staunch supporter of
individual freedom and individual rights. But individual rights had to also be tied to what was
best for society. At the end of the day, the social contract must be upheld and push society
toward perfection. It was through individual success that Rousseau believed that we would make
society a utopian place to live. Sadly, we have not held up our end of that bargain for the past
300 years since Rousseau walked the Earth.
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
7
In my opinion, Rousseau would look at the American education system and be
profoundly disappointed in what we have done to children in this country. America has tried to
level the playing field for everyone, but in reality, all it has done is eschewed our education
system to a place where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Our Department of Education
cares more about test scores than they do what students are learning. Peckover (2012) was
correct when he asserted that Rousseau would say that we don’t teach our children anymore, we
train them. The American education system places our students in a box, and it is hard to grow in
a box. I would think Rousseau would say throw them out into nature and let nature teach them.
The four walls of the classroom can be like a prison, we chain our students to the education
system, and rarely do we let them break those chains and reach the level of self-actualization that
is needed for them to truly find themselves and be happy in our society.
Implications and Conclusions
The implications for what we are doing to our students in America is catastrophic.
Outside the school, natural settings are paved over to create playgrounds for children. Rubber
mats are used on the playground in place of the earth to provide children with a safe
environment. The playground is swept clean of dirt, leaves, and other natural elements. Fences
are erected and, for their safety, children are told to stay within the boundaries of the school.
Simply through the school “environment,” children learn that nature must be controlled to be
safe (Peckover, 2012). Society has taught children that boundaries are safe and that going outside
of those boundaries can cause harm, lessen your safety, and even kill you. How sad Rousseau
would be to see what society and education have become here in America in 2023. If policies
aren’t changed and education isn’t freed from the chains of federal dollars, then education as a
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
8
whole will continue to suffer, and our students will never reach a place where they are free to be
themselves and free to learn in an environment that values their God-given potential. God wants
all of us to show the world what blessings and abilities he has given us. Society is currently
constraining those Godly gifts so everyone can be equal. God didn’t make us all equal, he made
us all special. It is through our uniqueness that humans can shine. Educators must help their
students learn to shine and break the chains of a society out of control.
Jean Jacques Rousseau…Breaking the Chains
9
References
Cullen, D. (2007). On Rousseau’s democratic realism.GPerspectives on Political Science.
https://doi.org/10.3200/ppsc.36.4.207-209
Isanbor, P. O., & Osawaru, A. E. (2023). Ethics of Rousseau’s philosophy of education.
Euromentor,G14(2), 164695863.
Koops, W. (2012). Jean Jacques Rousseau, modern developmental psychology, and
education.GEuropean Journal of Developmental Psychology,G9(sup1), 46–56.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2012.730996
Peckover, C. (2012). Realizing the natural self: Rousseau and the current system of
education.GPhilosophical Studies in Education,G43, 84–94.
Smith, S. J. (2020).GWindows into the history and philosophy of education. Kendall Hunt.
