Confessions
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The Confessions is a seminal work of autobiography by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, written between 1764 and 1770. In it, Rousseau explores his inner life, suggesting that self-knowledge comes from understanding the unconscious, the impact of childhood, and the role of sexuality. This introspective approach anticipates modern psychoanalysis.12
Rousseau's Confessions exemplifies his belief in total sincerity and his struggle for a morality based on conscience and feelings rather than external authority. This work is a key part of his broader philosophical contributions, which emphasized innate human goodness corrupted by society and championed a return to nature and authentic feeling. His writings profoundly influenced the Romantic movement and subsequent literature of introspection.134
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confession…addiction to drug taking, and Confessions (1782–89), the intimate autobiography of French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Confessions of Nat Turner (1832) is the confession of Nat Turner, an enslaved Black man who led the only effective, sustained slave rebellion (August 1831) in U.S. history. It was dictated in the days…
Read More…addiction to drug taking, and Confessions (1782–89), the intimate autobiography of French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Confessions of Nat Turner (1832) is the confession of Nat Turner, an enslaved Black man who led the only effective, sustained slave rebellion (August 1831) in U.S. history. It was dictated in the days…
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French literatureRousseauConfessions). Here he suggests that self-knowledge is to be achieved by a growing familiarity with the unconscious, a recognition of the importance of childhood in shaping the adult, and an acceptance of the role of sexuality—an anticipation of modern psychoanalysis. This original exploration of the…
Read MoreConfessions). Here he suggests that self-knowledge is to be achieved by a growing familiarity with the unconscious, a recognition of the importance of childhood in shaping the adult, and an acceptance of the role of sexuality—an anticipation of modern psychoanalysis. This original exploration of the…
Read More