Emile: On Education

Rousseau continues his argument that a child should be given as much free range as possible so he can learn quickly. He maintains that children will cry less as they begin talking because they’ll know how to better communicate their feelings. If the caregiver reacts calmly to cries, without overreacting, this teaches the child that the daily bumps and bruises of life are not important, and “by bearing slight ills without fear we gradually learn to bear greater” (22). Though people become unhappy when their desires greatly exceed their ability to achieve them, the happiest are those who have the freedom to provide for their needs and are satisfied by this. Parents who grasp for too much will often make their children work for things a child doesn’t need.

People also depend on natural resources and on society. Attaining resources “does no injury to liberty,” while acquiring benefits from society “gives rise to every kind of vice” (26) and the rule over men by individuals. The cure is supplanting the law with the individual’s “law,” which would free people to focus once again on fulfilling natural needs. Therefore, instead of forcing a child to behave, and thus accustoming him to tyranny, let him learn the lessons of the natural world.