Philosopherby Rit Nosotro First Published:: 2003 The
Enlightenment period had several great thinkers and
philosophers, one of them being Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau
was born in Geneva to a watchmaker and a minister’s daughter.
His mother, Suzanne Bernard Rousseau, died only days after his
birth leaving him to his father who not only failed to educate
him but also abandoned him when Rousseau was just ten years old.
Relatives of Rousseau’s mother took over care of Rousseau but at
age sixteen he ran away from an apprenticeship to travel. During
this time he became acquainted with a Madame de Warens with whom
he lived for approximately nine years. In 1742 Rousseau moved to
Paris to present and hopefully make a good deal of money off of
a new kind of musical notation. In this attempt Rousseau failed
miserably. He began secretarial work and copying music after
this failure. During this time, he met Therese La Vesseur who
bore him five children, although they were not married until
much later in their lives. The