Rousseau as a Naturalist

About Rousseau

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born on June 28, 1712 in Geneva,

Switzerland.
• He hated society for the evils & wanted to reform it.
• He realised,”Every thing is good as it comes from the hands of the
author of nature but it every where degenerates in the hands of the
nature.”
• He gave the slogan, "Return to nature”.
• Because of his (Emile) unfavorable reactions were caused in France &
Switzerland he had to go to England in 1766 after which he returned to
France after 11 years and wrote his last book “Confessions”
• His thoughts influenced French revolution .He was acclaimed as a great
revolutionary reformer.
• He died in 1778.
 His Works

•Social Contract

•New Heloise.

•Emile

•The progress of Arts & Science

 His Philosophy

• Rousseau’s naturalist philosophy shows the following three forms:

• Social naturalism
• Psychological naturalism.
• Physical naturalism
SOCIAL NATURALISM:
• In his social naturalism he devices education as a method to develop the
society.
• Rousseau’s social naturalism is found in his book, "The Social Contract”
• His aim is man making and not making of social man and citizen.
• In man making man/child should follow his inner feelings & natural tendencies.
• Rousseau pleaded for liberty & equality.
• Acc to him education means, "Natural development of organs and powers of
the child.
 Development acc to Rousseau

Acc to Rousseau man’s development may be classified into the following four
stages:
• Infancy: From birth to five years of age.

• Childhood: From five years too twelve years of age.

• Adolescence: From twelve years of age to fifteen years of age.

• Youth: From fifteen years of age to twenty years of age.

• Rousseau has suggested suitable education in all these stages in his book
Emile.
 Aims Of Education

INFANCY CHILDHOOD ADOLSCENCE YOUTH

Five yrs of Developing Aim at Aim of edn is

bodily sense organs developing the to achieve
development. through adolescent bodily,sensory
Has to remain activity & personality. ,mental,social
active. experience. & moral
Shd. be given development
knowledge of of the
all kinds to individual
satisfy his
needs.
Develop his Child should
own natural be made to
instincts by observe things
freedom in envt.
 Curriculum of Education
It is imperative to
understand the child
psychology.
Instead of giving controlled
information ,more attention
should be laid to
development of his body
soul.
Child to be taught in mother
tongue.
No habit to be taught.
INFANCY
Having acquired bodily Stress on moral & religious
The child shd be taught
&sensory development education based on actual
through
the child can now be experiences.
experinces&activity.
exposed to formal Religious education is to be
Based on negative edn. schooling. His assisted by the teaching of
Should not be given any curriculum shd. Contain history, mythological
verbal lessons . natural stories& religious stories.
sci,lang,maths,wood They may derive lessons
Acc. To him child will
work,music,painting,so from them.
learn morality by the
cial life. Importance to education in
natural consequences.
Use of sense organs bodily health,music.
rather than training
CHILDHOOD ADOLESCENCE YOUTH
 Educational Methods

• Acc to Rousseau, "To be alive does not mean to breathe , but it means to work and
to develop our sense organs, senses and other powers. That man is not happy who
has long life but happy is one who has gained experience of life.”
• Method at vogue at the time of Rousseau was mainly oral and theoretical .
• Acc to Rousseau, "I want that some wise man should tell us the art of counseling
the child. This art will be valuable for us. The teachers have not learnt even its
elementary rule.”
• He wanted to adopt play way method in education in case of verbal teaching. He
maintained, "Education should be practical rather than oral. The child will not have
to read through books ,he will have to stop reading words.”
• THUS real education is elf education .The infant himself learns to develop by the
utilization of his sense organs and reacting to the environment.
 Principles of Education

LEARNING THROUGH SELF EXPERIENCE

• Opposed learning by books.
• Since books learn to talk about a thing but does not know to Know(KNOWLEDGE).
• By learning through experience knowledge is permanent.

LEARNING BY DOING
• Child should learn through his observation, experience and analysis.
• In order to develop the Childs mind his curiosity is to be developed.
• These elements were later manifested in the evolution of the heuristic method.
• In education is to object is more important than the world.
• It is undesirable to fashion a method of education and to mould the child accordingly.
 Naturalism and Discipline

• He wanted complete freedom as the first step towards

inducing discipline in the child.

• Rousseau’s plan did not include any arrangement for

punishments since he felt that punishments should be he
natural outcome of their mistakes.

• This is the natural pattern of punishment and it is this which

will discipline the child.

• Thus the child will learn to discipline, if he is left to himself.

 School Organization

• Rousseau contended that the child is born innocent and pure, that he is
only defiled and distorted by the defective environment of the school.

• The only suitable environment of every kind is defective and impure.

• It is better to separate the child from the society and parent and away
from school and leave him in a natural environment.

• The educators only task is to look after the child, because un the natural
environment the child will himself look after the development of his
natural abilities.

• Even if the schools are created ,they can be utilized by stressing the
natural surroundings instead of insisting on creating a social atmosphere.
THANK YOU