Advancement and a call for simplicity.

During the Enlightenment the world became a bit smaller, world commerce was a young but growing idea pushed by Europeans and the many of the scientific discoveries helped people understand more about the world around them. As people flocked to salons to discuss the pressing ideas of the time, others found that solitude brought real answers. Rousseau's call to for simplicity as response to the growing corruption and complexity is a theme that has been repeated and still occurs today. 

Throughout the eighteenth century new secular ideas came forth that helped people better understand nature gain greater mastery over it. Yet despite all of this forward movement, some people saw the problems that society still had, or that it had developed and sought for ways to help cure the "rot" of society. Enter Rousseau, who put forth the idea of "noble savages," that essentially society was a corrupting factor and that there was a need to return to nature. He explains in several of his books his belief that humanity is innately good, but corrupted by society because humans were originally solitary and that over time the creation of society has brought out the bad side of humanity. 

What I personally found interesting in this was the focus on nature and embracing a more secluded life. Studies in psychology have shown that nature, and the lack thereof, does in fact have a big impact on human beings. There was an experiment done on both the psychological and physical impact living with or without nature has on people and interestingly enough, being in contact with some of nature does have a measurable impact on our mental and physical health. Although society continues to be further and further removed from nature, it may be helpful to remember Rousseau and incorporate nature more into our increasingly urban world. 

Picture credits: Portrait of Jean-Jacque Rousseau by Maurice Quinten de la Tour is public domain