I actually have a high regard for much of Rousseau's work and influence. He was an advocate for the importance of feelings, passions and sentiments, which were given short shrift by Classical rationality and by much of the scientific establishment. You may have noticed that many on this site are not great fans of restraining the expression of our feelings about events and developments. In that regard Jean Jacques is a sort of patron saint. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
Like many of his contemporaries he admired the Spartans a bit too much for our taste and he also believed women should be subordinate -- not so good.
I accidentally put an extra quotation mark at the end of my previous post. The final sentence of which is mine not the History Cooperative.
I've come to believe that all this talk about "the fall of man" and being a "realist" is a form of self presentation (advertising) left over from the Cold War.
