Born on June 28, 1712, in Geneva, the French philosopher, novelist and essayist Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most prominent and definitive minds of the Enlightenment. Self-taught, Rousseau dabbled in many fields, keeping journals of his interests in science, mathematics, music, astronomy, botany, music, literature, and philosophy. He achieved sudden success and subsequent fame with his «A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences», a work that cemented his pivotal place in the history of The...