Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Most Hypocritical Philosopher

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an 18th century philosopher from Switzerland well-known for his revolutionary ideas. However, behind his thick beard and bushy eyebrows, lay a man with some serious character flaws.

Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Rousseau was known to be a major hypocrite, which translated into his ideas as well. While he wrote extensively on the importance of equality and democracy, he never once lifted a finger to practice what he preached. In fact, he was one of the most elitist philosophers of his time.

Rousseau was known for his arrogance, self-centeredness and for constantly overreacting to circumstances beyond his control. This led him to have a life-long feud with Voltaire - a fellow philosopher who mocked Rousseau’s work and beliefs at every opportunity.

Rousseau also claimed to despise personal wealth, an idea he popularized in his book ‘The Social Contract’. However, he had no qualms spending large sums of money on flashy clothes and expensive parties. Some say, his hypocrisy knew no bounds.

Moreover, Rousseau abandoned his own children at birth and never truly reconciled with them. This is ironic considering how he preached about the importance of the family unit and the relationship between parent and child.

In summary, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a philosopher who often let his ego and hypocrisy get the better of him. His ideas, while groundbreaking, failed to lead him towards any true implementation of his beliefs. Nonetheless, he has cemented himself in history as a major figure of his time, although, one can’t help but wonder what kind of self-righteous individual he would have become in the age of social media.