The Speech on sciences and arts is a text of Jean-Jacques Rousseau writes within the framework of the contest of Académe of Dijon of 1750. Prize winner of the contest, Rousseau sees his test extremely with accompanying notes and he owes its celebrity, well before her opus magnum Of the social contract.

As the contest wants it, the speech answers a question: it was then a question of determining “If the re-establishment of sciences and arts contributed to purify manners”. Savage criticism of the practices of its time, the author presents in two parts a diatribe against sciences and arts, which well far from purifying manners move away the men from the virtue.

Against the dubious and useless knowledge, Rousseau develops ignorance and virtuous simplicity. It tackles refinement and effinement men accustomed to sciences and arts, and an image of vigorous and warlike men opposes to them. According to Rousseau sciences and arts did nothing but corrupt manners and camouflage the yoke of the tyrants by occupying the men with futilities and making them forget their constraint.

Noxious the greatest number, sciences and arts do not harm however to the great men such Descartes or Newton.

Chronology

• 1749 (October): Rousseau takes note of the question of the Academy. It begins the drafting of the Discours .
• 1750 (March): Sending of the text to the Academy of Dijon.
• 1750 (July): July 9th the Academy decrees the price with the Discours .
• 1751 (January): Publication of the Speech on sciences and arts .

Sources

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Speech on the origin of the inequality , Speech on sciences and arts , GF, 1992 (ISBN 2-08-070243-2)

See too

• Speech on the origin of the inequality
• Of the social Contract