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A Discourse on the Moral Effects of the Arts and Sciences (1750), also known as Discourse on the Sciences and Arts (French: Discours sur les sciences et les arts) and commonly referred to as The First Discourse, is an essay by Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau which argued that the arts and sciences corrupt human morality.
As the conveniences of life increase, as the arts are brought to perfection, and luxury spreads, true courage flags, the virtues disappear; and all this is the effect of the sciences and of those arts which are exercised in the privacy of men’s dwellings.
blame the sciences in front of one of the most scholarly societies in Europe, praise ignorance in a famous Academy, and reconcile a contempt for study with respect for truly learned
A Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts. essay by Rousseau. Also known as: “Discours sur les sciences et les arts”, “Discourse on the Arts and Sciences” Learn about this topic in these articles: discussed in biography. In Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Formative years.
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) wrote A Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts (commonly called The First Discourse) in 1750, as his entry in a competition set by the Academy of Dijon. His essay won first prize, and that success very quickly elevated him from obscurity and made him a celebrity.
In 1750, Rousseau’s First Discourse, or the Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, won an essay contest held by the Academy of Dijon on the topic of, “Whether the restoration of the sciences and arts tended to purify morals?”
Oct 19, 2023 · The First Discourse responds to a question posed by the Academy of Dijon on “whether the restoration of the sciences and the arts has contributed to purifying morals.”
