Émile, or On Education
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau's assertion that "Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves" challenges the Enlightenment's faith in rationality. While many of his contemporaries saw human reason as the ultimate guide, Rousseau insists that self-deception thrives in our minds. The natural world, with its indifference to our illusions, offers a mirror reflecting our own distortions. Rousseau's residence in Venice, with its decadent distractions, underscores this—amidst societal artifice, he rediscovered authentic joy in music.