Abstract

The early Rousseau and his controversial Approach to Science Already in his first well-known Discourse on the Arts and the Sciences, J.-J. Rousseau marks clearly the points of friction with his contemporaries. In fact, in his works, 'science' is seen, almost entirely, as an effect of nefarious vices of human nature. But, despite his incessant criticism, Rousseau followed the scientific studies of his historical period, and he did not dislike some branches, probably more congenial to him. Having said the above, sometimes in Rousseau’s works some scientific methodology's glimmers can be glimpsed: but always "of opposite sign", calibrated in a spiritual sense and bent to his moral and political aims.