Shortly thereafter, he began his political career. At the age of 23, he was elected to the House of Commons. Although he was very talented, Queen Elizabeth refused to appoint him to any important or profitable position. One of the reasons is that he boldly opposed a tax bill firmly supported by the Queen in Parliament. He lives in luxury, is extravagant, and "borrows" debts without scruple. In fact, he was arrested once for being in debt.
Bacon became a friend and consultant of the young noble Earl of Essex, who was ambitious and won the hearts of the people, and Essex became a friend and generous donor of Bacon. But when Essex's ambition swelled and he plotted a coup to overthrow Queen Elizabeth, it was Bacon who warned him to put the loyal queen first. Nevertheless, Essex staged a coup, but it failed. Bacon played an active role in prosecuting the count for treason, and Essex was beheaded. The whole incident made many people feel bad about Bacon.
Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, and Bacon became an adviser to her successor, King James I. Although James refused to accept Bacon's advice, he appreciated Bacon very much. During the reign of James, Bacon rose step by step in the government. Bacon became the second minister of justice in 1607, and was appointed as a British justice in 16 18, with a position roughly equivalent to that of the president of the US court. In the same year, he was made a baron; 162 1 Become a viscount.
But joy begets sorrow, and Bacon later got into big trouble. As a judge, Bacon accepted the "gift" from the litigant in person. Although this is common, it is obviously illegal. His political opponents in parliament are trying to seize this opportunity to oust him. Bacon confessed, was sentenced to imprisonment, held in the Tower of London, and was forbidden to hold any public office for life. At the same time, he was fined a large sum of money. The king quickly released Bacon from prison and exempted him from the fine, but his political career was over.
Nowadays, there are many examples of senior politicians being arrested for taking bribes or trampling on public trust in other ways. After being arrested, such people often sue to defend themselves, claiming that everyone else is cheating. If we take this defense seriously, it seems that cheating politicians will go unpunished unless there is a precedent for punishment. Bacon's confession is different: "I am the fairest judge in Britain in the past 50 years, but my conviction is the fairest condemnation made by Parliament in the past 200 years."
Such an active and fulfilling political career seems to have no time to do anything else. But Bacon's immortal fame and position in this book is due to his philosophical works, not his political activities. His first important work, Essays, was first published in 1597, and was later supplemented year by year. This book is concise and wonderful. It contains many opinions, including not only politics, but also many philosophies of life. Here are some representative words:
Young people are more suitable for invention than judgment, more suitable for practical work than consultation, more suitable for innovation than established occupation ... Old people deny more, negotiate for a long time, and take less risks ... If young and old are combined, they will benefit a lot, ... because they can learn from each other's strengths. ...
-"Talking about Youth and Old Age"
Those who have wives and children have paid collateral for their fate. ...
-"Talking about Marriage and Being Single"
Bacon himself was married but had no children.
But Bacon's most important book is about the philosophy of science. He plans to write a masterpiece "The Great Renaissance" in six parts. I intend to reiterate our knowledge in the first part; The second part describes a new scientific investigation method; The third part collects experimental data; The fourth part expounds his new scientific working method; The fifth part puts forward some tentative conclusions; The last part summarizes the knowledge gained through his new method. It is conceivable that this grand plan-perhaps the most ambitious idea since Aristotle-has never been fully realized. However, Academic Progress (1605) and New Tools (1620) can be regarded as the first two of his masterpieces.
New Tools is perhaps Bacon's most important work. This book basically calls on people to adopt the method of experimental investigation. Because of the absurdity of completely relying on Aristotle's deductive logic method, a new logic method-induction is needed. Knowledge is not a known condition in our inference, but a conclusion drawn from the condition, or a conclusion that we want to achieve. If people want to understand the world, they must first observe the world. Bacon pointed out that facts should be collected first, and then conclusions should be drawn from these facts through inductive reasoning. Although scientists don't always follow Bacon's induction in every detail, the basic ideas he expressed are of great significance to observation and experiment, and form the core of the methods that scientists have been using since then.
Bacon's last book is New West Atlantis, which describes a utopian country on a fictional island in the Pacific Ocean. Although the background in the book is reminiscent of Sir Thomas Moore's utopia, his whole view is quite different. In Bacon's book, the prosperity and happiness of his ideal kingdom depend on and come directly from his devoted scientific research. Of course, Bacon is indirectly telling readers that the wise application of scientific research can make the European people as prosperous and happy as the people on his mysterious island.
People can say that Francis Bacon is a real modern philosopher. His whole worldview is secular rather than religious (although he firmly believes in God). He is a rationalist rather than a superstitious admirer, an empiricist rather than a sophist. Politically, he is a realist, not a theorist. His profound knowledge and wonderful writing resonate with science and technology.
Although Bacon is a loyal Englishman, his knowledge is far beyond his own borders. He divided three kinds of ambitions:
One kind of people, who miss each other and have poor management, have a long view of Shu and covet Qingyun within their own territory; Second, the government has no worries about food and clothing, and its organs are exhausted. It wants to find out the status of others and expand the potential of its own country. The more people bow down, the better. Although this generation is greedy, it is supreme; It's really ambitious and ... perfect if one climbs through difficulties and tries hard to let human beings enjoy the experience of heaven and earth and master the talents of the universe.
Although Bacon is the guide of science, he is not a scientist himself, and he can't keep up with the progress made by his contemporaries. He ignored Napier (who recently invented logarithm) and Kepler, and even his English companion william harvey. Bacon correctly pointed out that heat is a form of movement-an important scientific theory, but he refused to accept Copernicus' theory in astronomy. However, people should remember that Bacon did not propose a complete and correct set of scientific laws, but an overview of what should be learned. His scientific speculation is intended as a starting point for further discussion, not a final conclusion.
Francis Bacon is not the first person to realize the use of inductive reasoning, nor is he the first person to understand that science will bring various possible benefits to society. But before him, no one has published these views so enthusiastically and widely. In addition, partly because Bacon is a good writer and partly because of his reputation as a major politician, his views on science have great influence in practice. 1662 when the royal society of London was founded to promote the growth of scientific knowledge, the founders called bacon their enlightener. Moreover, when compiling encyclopedias during the French Enlightenment, major editors such as Diderot and Alembert praised Bacon as the enlightener of their works. If "New Tools" and "New Atlantis" have fewer readers today than before, it is because their meanings have been widely accepted.
People have reason to compare Bacon with rene descartes, another pioneer in the coming scientific era. Bacon was a generation ahead of Descartes (thirty years). He emphasized the importance of observation and experiment more than Descartes, but the great mathematical invention of the Frenchman tilted the balance of this contrast slightly in his favor.
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Rousseau
Jean-jean-jacques rousseau was born in Geneva on June 28th, 200712. My father was a watchmaker, and my mother died suddenly ten days after his birth. Jean Jacques was raised by his aunt Susan Rousseau since childhood. 1722, my father left Geneva and officially settled in Nyon. Jeanjacques and his cousin stayed in the foster home of Pastor Foces, not far from Geneva. 1724, he returned to Geneva, stayed at his uncle's house, and took a document as an apprentice. His father remarried on 1726. In the third year, Rousseau went to Angxi and was introduced by a priest to see Mrs. De Warren. His wife sent him to the New Pastoral Education Institute in Turin, where Rousseau vowed to give up the Protestant faith. When he was in Turin, he worked as a servant in Madame de Viselli's house for three months, and later served Count de Gu Feng.
1729, he returned to Anxi, lived in Madame de Warren's house, and then stayed at La Salle Theological Seminary for several months, becoming an intern in the cathedral choir. During this period, I went to Fribourg and Lausanne and taught music in Nachate. 1736, Rousseau and Madame de Warren lived in this beautiful garden for the first time. The following year, according to Geneva law, Rousseau came of age and went to Geneva to accept his mother's inheritance. He gets sick easily and worries about his health more and more. /kloc-returned to Xiumeiyuan in 0/738, and was left out by Mrs. De Warren. He tried to teach himself. /kloc-arrived in Paris on 0/742; Rousseau was recommended to read his proposal about the new music notation to the French Academy of Sciences, and obtained a certificate for it. 1743, Rousseau became the secretary of Count de montague, who went to Venice as an ambassador. He went with him and fell out with De montague within a year. When I returned to Paris and lived in an apartment, I met Therese Beauvais, a washerwoman. /kloc-moved in with her in March, 745. He finished the opera The Romantic Poet. Met Diderot and Kong Di Jacques. He also adapted the Lamill Festival, a collaboration between Voltaire and Ramo, into an opera.
1746, he became the secretary of Mrs Du Ping. In Du Ping's Country House, Rousseau wrote a poetic drama: The Road to Sylvie. His first child was born and he sent him to an orphanage. My father died in 1747. He also wrote the comedy The Bold Contract. 1749, at the request of D'Alembert, he wrote the music items in the encyclopedia. He plans to take part in the composition competition organized by Dijon College. 1750, Dijon College awarded Rousseau an award for "On whether the prosperity of science and art will be Dunhua or ruin the phoenix custom".
1752 10, his comedy opera The Country Prophet was performed in front of King Louis XV of France in Fontainebleau Palace, which was a great success. The king wanted to summon him, but he didn't go. 1754, accompanied by Theresa, Rousseau went to Geneva, converted to Calvinism again, and resumed Geneva citizenship. 1755, he wrote The Origin of Social Inequality. 1756, Rousseau and Therese lived in the secluded place of Mrs. Derby's house and began to write New Heloise. 1757, he quarreled with Diderot and later made up. He was at odds with Mrs. Derby and moved out of the seclusion in1February. Rousseau felt the sadness of disillusionment. Love and friendship abandoned him. He began to suspect that there was a huge conspiracy: all his old friends plotted to hurt him. He was depressed and gave up many writing plans. However, he fantasized about being protected by powerful people, accepting the kindness of the Luxemburg Marshal and living in Monlouis Garden in Montmorency.
176 1 year, Julie (or New Arrow) was published in Paris and achieved great success. 1762, he published Letter to Mr. De Malezeb (February), On Social Contract (April) and Emile (May). Soon the book "Emile" was confiscated by the police, criticized at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) and banned by Congress. Rousseau got wind that the authorities ordered him to be arrested, and immediately fled to Switzerland, arrived in Everton, and hid in Ward Mountain Village. At this time, Geneva also seized "Emile" and "Social Contract Theory" and ordered the arrest of Rousseau. Rousseau had to flee again and hide in Mortiere, which belongs to Prussia.
1764, he wrote a letter in the mountains. 1February, Geneva published an anonymous booklet "Citizens' Feelings", implying that Rousseau abandoned his five children and sent them to an orphanage, which prompted Rousseau to write Confessions. Rousseau was expelled from Mortiere in 1765 and went to St. Peter's Island on Lake Bean. After living in seclusion for two months, he fled to Strasbourg, went to Paris, and then accepted the invitation of the British philosopher Hume and went to England. Within a few months, Rousseau and Hume had a quarrel and wrote pamphlets accusing each other. The public opinion circles in London and Paris are very concerned about this quarrel. 1767, King George III of England agreed to give Rousseau 100 an annuity every year. Rousseau left Wootton, England, and his whereabouts are unknown. 1768, he took books and plant specimens collected on the island to Lyon, went to Grenoble, passed through Chambery, stayed in Bouguwan, and formally married Therese in August.
1770, he went to Lyon to attend the unveiling ceremony of Voltaire statue. I went back to Paris to stay, and then the Confessions manuscript began to spread among my close friends. 1774, he went out with German musician Gluck to compose music for The Country Prophet. 1776 dialogue: Jeanjacques's comments on Rousseau was completed, and the first volume of Rethinking the Lonely Traveler was written. He is old and has a hard life, while Teresa has been ill for a long time. Rousseau died on July 2, 778, and was buried in Yangshu Island. 1794, five years after the French Revolution, the body was moved and buried in the Pantheon in Paris.
Rousseau published three books summarizing his life: Confessions (first six volumes 1782, full text 1789), Daydream of a Lonely Traveler (1782) and Dialogue: Jean Jacques Commenting on Rousseau (1782).
176 1 At the end of the year, Dutch editor Rey told Rousseau that he hoped to attach an author's life to the first volume of his complete works. Rousseau replied that such an article would implicate many people. However, he has revealed the meaning of writing an autobiography in the book New Eloise. He wants to take the form of a novel, which is a bit like the structure of the book Emile. This time, shortly after he politely refused Ray's suggestion, he wrote four famous letters to Mr. De Malaise Bull, asking him to paint himself, which can be regarded as a formal prelude to Confessions. In his letter, he defended his interests, but at the same time denied that he was the kind of cynic everyone said.
1762 In June, something happened, which was a bolt from the blue for Rousseau: the Paris Parliament banned Emile and ordered the arrest of the author. Rousseau fled hastily. Since then, he has been writing articles to defend himself in front of public opinion. 1764, he lodged in Mortiere, the fief of Count Nachate, and received the book "Citizen's Feeling" from an unknown person. He doesn't admit that Voltaire is the real author, but he believes that this book was written at the instigation of his old friend Madame Derby. This pamphlet is full of foul language, which gives a terrible exposure to the father who lost his conscience and abandoned his children, to the lover of Qin Lei Zi Le wasser, and to all the evil deeds that Rousseau advertised as dedicating himself to virtue in his life. Rousseau really thought of writing memoirs at this moment, trying to win the understanding of future generations. Don't let the enemy defile his life.
Although he wanders around, the work of writing confessions has never been interrupted. At the end of 1766, the first part was completed. At that time, he said at the end of the sixth chapter: "Later, I was a little older and did some good things. I will mention them equally frankly. This is my plan. But I have to stop here. " But after two years of silence, he thought that the enemy was still plotting, and he was the victim of this conspiracy. If he doesn't fight back, he will be remembered for a long time. At the end of 1770, he wrote chapter 12; Rousseau originally intended to write the third book, but finally gave up.
Confessions consists of three manuscripts. The first and earliest copy, incomplete, was suspended in Chapter 4. After the death of his client Du Bayrou, he gave it to the Nachate Library. The second copy is complete and kept in the Library of the House of Representatives in Paris. There is also a Geneva manuscript, which Rousseau designated as a published text.
According to Rousseau's wishes, Confessions seems to be published long after his death. But the first part was published four years after his death. The author's enemies who were still alive at that time were not affected. The second part was published in 1789 when the French Revolution broke out. Some people say that these are actually the ingenious arrangements of Rousseau himself. He knew that the book was secret, or if it was not published, it would inevitably make hostile groups deeply uneasy. He officially settled in Paris in 1770, and read his Confessions at least three times in the salon. Does this make them feel uneasy? One thing is certain, he really scared Mrs. Derby. She asked the police to intervene and negotiate with Rousseau to stop reading. Later, she began to write her own memoirs. As early as 1766, Hume published the story of his quarrel with Rousseau, and Diderot secretly attacked his old friend in the article "The Achievement of Claude and Neron". Confessions has aroused heated discussion and debate before its publication, which is the guarantee of success.
Rousseau kept saying that he would write a unique work for future generations, both in the preface and the text. His title is reminiscent of Confessions by St. Augustine (354-430). Rousseau may not have read the original directly. But he mentioned in the first part of Confessions that he had read it? Sewell's History of the Church and Empire; At least he can see some excerpts from St. Augustine's Confessions; And he read the works of Jesuits in Xiumeiyuan, which inevitably exposed him to Augustine's theory. However, even if some people think that Rousseau's epiphany in Wansen is like a revelation from heaven, which leads to spiritual transformation, similar to St. Augustine's abandonment of Manichaeism and conversion to Christianity, it should be said that Rousseau's mind and thousand regrets are quite different from those of his saints.
Montaigne is one of the most influential thinkers in16th century, and his prose collection is autobiographical. However, when Rousseau mentioned him, his tone was very disrespectful: "I regard Montaigne as such a hypocritical leader, and they also tell the truth and deceive people." He exposed his shortcomings, but they were just lovely, and no one was hateful. Montaigne painted himself like himself, but only one side. "However, in our view, Rousseau and Montaigne are not spiritually unrelated. The conclusion of Montaigne's prose collection that "it is absolute, even sacred, to know how to enjoy one's existence aboveboard" is not an accurate expression of the happiness formula pursued by Rousseau in Confessions. After all, the goals of the two books are very similar. Rousseau is aggressive when talking about Montaigne, which may indicate that he hates that he has not completely got rid of the influence of Montaigne's works.
/kloc-many memoirs were published in the 0/7th century to persuade people to be kind./kloc-novels written in the first person in the 0/8th century were published as official memoirs and became popular. These will certainly not affect the formation of Rousseau's Confessions school.
The fragmentation influence mentioned above can only show that Rousseau is not an absolute innovator in writing autobiographical novels or novels. But like all great writers, he borrowed from the new trend of his own time and created unique works with the exploration that was still wavering at that time; From this point, people can agree that his works are unique.
Before and after writing Confessions, Rousseau originally wanted to defend himself. For him, this is a lawsuit. In this lawsuit, he played the role of the defendant, and the plaintiff was his former friend. They waved his books as evidence, listed his ugly behavior, and made this irrefutable judgment: Jean-Jacques is a savage, a bad guy and a monster.
Rousseau believes that as a defendant, the best defense for him is to draw his mental portrait meticulously and truthfully. He "wants his soul to be transparent in the eyes of readers". He thoroughly explained the shortcomings that people accused him of, and admitted other shortcomings that were buried in his heart, unknown and always made him feel guilty. At the same time, he also said, "No matter how pure a person's heart is, he does not hide some disgusting sins." Every thought and action in his life has a meaning, which is sometimes directly explained by him, and sometimes he asks readers to discover it with him. At the same time, we also see that Confessions is a mirror of the whole life, and the narrative of this life is entirely for the individual; He wrote this book as a will, and when he wrote it, he was afraid that he would not finish it in the near future; After writing, I don't want to leave it to my contemporaries, but to future generations, which shows Rousseau's ideological complexity when writing this book.
There is a masterpiece in the writing plan made by the hermit. The title can be called perceptual ethics or sage materialism. He believes that "most people are often not like themselves in the process of life." Starting from this argument, Rousseau suggested that he "look for the reasons for these changes, study the reasons that depend on our own individuals, and point out how we can master them in order to make ourselves better". He soon gave up the job because the depth and breadth of such a job discouraged him, but in Confessions, he mentioned and expounded the arguments supported by this job. This also explains why Rousseau described every little thing in Confessions in detail, in order to find out why human nature succumbed to external influences in the material world and social world and went back on its word. He also added a will to explain everything and an almost scientific method, and said: "There is some continuity between feeling and thought. The first affects the latter, and you must understand the first to judge the latter. I tried my best to explain the original reasons everywhere in order to let people see the consequences of contact. "
Therefore, Rousseau knew in his childhood that he should look for it, and he was fully aware of the influence of the first few years on his behavior. Following him, we can see that Rousseau's childhood grew up under vague education, and he struggled to assume the responsibility of an adult. It is really a tragedy that a sensitive soul lacks warmth and love. He never felt that he was the focus of a family. His mental state and material life are always in constant fluctuation. He came into contact with romantic reverie, the prosperous weather of Rome and even the mystery of love prematurely. Thus, this irrelevant pride hides a morbid timidity; As a result, this interest in great yearning and love of dreams, this need for pretense and disguise, this escape from self, hidden in another temporary person's endowment. His shortcomings, like his advantages, are inseparable from a laissez-faire and uncertain youth.
He repeatedly mentioned the scenes of his childhood, which decided his fate and marked the beginning of a series of uncontrollable pains. He is not satisfied with proposing a disaster with serious consequences, but enumerates all kinds of disasters, constantly tying him in an inextricable net. All this is to emphasize that he is a cruel plaything. So when he looked back on his life, he sighed, "My birth was my first misfortune."
He is lonely and annoying. He wants to travel all over the world to find a place to live. The crime lies in society, because society misunderstood him first. In this way, confession has a new direction. This man with complex wisdom is not afraid of deviance. He said that the evil in his heart came from society, and his misfortune was the world's revenge on this man who was not afraid to sue the world. Therefore, suffering for their own beliefs, adhering to the truth that only they can master and enduring incredible hardships are the actions of martyrs. Rousseau thinks he is a similar to Socrates in this respect. His birth and education seem to have doomed him to mediocrity all his life. But like a hero in a tragedy, he constantly strives for self-improvement and is different from ordinary people because of his suffering and insurmountable fate. He wants to erect an outstanding statue for future generations: he is a thinker who can't do without thinking.
If there is no lawsuit between Rousseau and Rousseau himself (that is, Jean-Jacques in Dialogue), the lawsuit between Rousseau and his contemporaries may not be so serious. Rousseau's cleverest and harshest judge in his life is himself, and others' accusations against him will undoubtedly seem insignificant by comparison. It is easy to be sure that everyone else is guilty, but in doing so, he will inevitably meet his own conscience. What did he find in his life at that time? In order to explain the evil consequences of drama, art and civilization, he himself became a playwright, novelist and musician. He is an ordinary man, but he is protected by princes and dignitaries. He created an imaginary world where happiness is the highest praise for virtue, but he himself is miserable. He sincerely loves justice, truth and kindness, but he lies, does not talk about justice and does bad things. It is true that he speaks loudly in front of the world, but he also knows-as mentioned in Emile-that conscience will only discuss with reason when it is hiding something. So what he expects is transparency in front of people. He used this transparency to calm his inner anxiety. Because he knows there are many beautiful things in his heart, as for evil, he is willing to openly admit it in front of the later world, so that he can be purified. When he was young, there was a tragic incident of stealing ribbons. He wrongfully hurt Marion, which made him feel guilty all his life. As an adult, he abandoned his children and failed to fulfill his father's responsibilities. In his later years, he met a sweetheart who had been very kind to him. Mrs. Warren is indifferent to poverty and disease; For Mrs. Dudetov, there is an inappropriate love. After this confession, he returned to his original innocent state. At that time, he could enjoy his existence with peace of mind, escape from the painful cycle in hell at that time, and move towards happiness that has not been completely lost in the past.
At the same time, Rousseau gave himself a complete and complete pardon. Because he summoned up the courage to speak his mind, it is natural to forgive. In his view, his frankness and pain itself is a kind of atonement, washing away his sins, and he can calmly stare at this lost person.
Finally, he challenged everyone to reveal the absurd privacy in their lives. Now that he has all this, he just stays in it to find true happiness. Memories are all here, so that once happy to reproduce the original light. This is his highest argument, his highest happiness. Everyone is afraid to face the deepest hidden self. Rousseau, on the other hand, is in the center of loneliness, far away from the world where everyone is playing, and feels unspeakable happiness. The fascinating days in Bosse are gone forever, but he will recreate it and be more beautiful when he is reborn.
However, confession did not bring him the inner peace he expected. The first six chapters frequently recall these past events, and the whole book is beaming. The tone of the second part is gloomy. Although seclusion and St. Peter's Island have a pleasure, the whole page is a painful chapter of the author's confrontation with his plaintiff. Finally, it was not over, and then he continued his annoying excuse for dialogue. Only in the daydream of a lonely traveler did he achieve relative peace.
six
For artists, the greatest happiness is to create their own satisfactory works of art, Rousseau does not admit that he is a writer. He mentioned to us that he entered the field of literature because of an unfortunate epiphany, and his literary career was a fate formed by endless temptation, surrender and even accident. In fact, he still has the characteristics of an artist in the process of writing, that is, he is uncompromising, diligent and perfect in the form of hobbies. He criticized the speech on "On the Prosperity of Art and Science Will Deteriorate or Destroy Vulgarity" for its lack of logic and hierarchy, which is the article with the worst reasoning and the least attention to rhythm and harmony in his works. But 15 years later, he is a skilled writer. He picked up a pen to prove that he was not a writer, but he showed his genius as a novelist brilliantly.
It is impossible to describe fifty years' life without choosing and explaining things and giving more or less meaningful comments. In order to make his life the material of a literary work and make readers read it clearly, it is inevitable to rearrange it. We saw how Rousseau reported his own destiny, and pointed out that from his childhood, everything was arranged in the following way: he was a witness of truth, his fate was hard to violate, and he was destined to be a martyr. In addition to proud feelings and unconventional desires, there are also artists' demands. At this point, let's borrow Albert? Camus said it aptly in The Rebel. Camus said: Novel is an imaginary world, but it is created by correcting the present world. In our world, if the pain comes from my own will, it will last until after death; Lust will never be lifted and disappeared; Everyone sticks to an idea and can't get rid of others. Camus went on to say, "the forms and reassuring boundaries that people pursued in vain under primitive conditions finally put themselves in that imaginary world." The novel customizes people's destiny according to their body shape. The novel participated in the work of Genesis in this form, and it also defeated death for some time. " The novelist Rousseau did not yield or hesitate to enter the field of autobiographical creation. This is him, seeing his life again, arguing with real people and stories, and sometimes resolutely correcting them. Finally, while tinkering with his real life, he cut himself a "customized fate".
But we can't doubt Rousseau's sincerity in writing Confessions. We know that Rousseau's contemporaries quickly denied the truth of Confessions. Some critics also expressed doubts after them. Bruntil said; "This is not a confession he wrote, it is a preventive measure he took to prevent future generations. His memoir is not the memoir of the person he actually is, or even the memoir of the person he is willing to do. He wants people to believe that he is such a person, which is simply a novel. "
Is Rousseau discrediting himself and questioning the enemy's statement? Does he write to increase the credibility of his cynical lies? This is also the main question you can ask yourself. Many people have made a lot of allusions to the plot in the book, which proves that there are many date errors and factual inconsistencies in the Confessions. But it also points out that Rousseau's narrative is very true in essence. He hopes that his works can bring him peace and tranquility.