ABSTRACT
Emile, or On Education provides a general introduction to the work Rousseau considered to be his best and most important. In addition to discussing how the educational system and account of human nature and development in the work relates to Rousseau’s ‘system’ of the natural goodness of man and corruption in society, the chapter discusses his purposes in adopting a hybrid treatise-novel form, and notes various techniques Rousseau uses to educate and persuade his reader. Finally, the chapter discusses the explicitly separate sections of Emile on religion, women, and politics and their role in the work, and in Rousseau’s oeuvre, more generally.
