You Might Have Heard Of…
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
WHO WERE THEY?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778 AD)
WHAT DID HE DO?
Rousseau is considered by many to be a vital connection between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment ways of thinking. In very broad terms, the Renaissance saw the rise of people using their reason to understand the world around them (think da Vinci and Galileo). However, this was a totally secular, humanistic approach which separated science and religion; God wasn’t considered to be relevant or helpful in learning real things about the real world. By the time of Rousseau, these ideas were so entrenched that man, on the basis of his science, could no longer distinguish himself from the animal or the machine. Rousseau was a man who was sensitive to the fact that man is, and aspires to, more than the machine, so he hated this science. He sought to re-discover his humanity by living as a Bohemian, with total freedom.
WHAT DIFFERENCE HAS IT MADE?
The Bohemian philosophy and lifestyle has gained great popularity across the centuries. A person lives as ‘authentically’ as possible, without conforming to any logical rules, whether that be in how they think, interact with society or act morally. This ‘authentic’, total, personal freedom is their definition of being human; it is an absolute denial of any relationship between identity and reality - there is no hope of looking at the world and then looking at who man is and producing a system which makes sense of both. To summarise this concept: from this point of history, there is now a wall, ten thousand feet thick, between the real world (the physical universe, physical birds, physical humans etc.) and any meaning (who we are, why we are here etc.). Any discussion about meaning is dead. Each person searches for their own meaning and since it is in no way linked to reality, it is not open for discussion; meaning is irrational and mystical. We are injected with a thousand needles on a thousand sides telling us this today. True, biblical Christianity stands alone in offering a rational explanation in the areas of being and meaning because it does not separate them. The Bohemian must tear himself in half to discover his humanity but the Christian does not face this dilemma.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Can we see the separation of logic and meaning (philosophy/religion) in the world around us? Where? Do we earnestly believe that the Christian message offers the only answer to the Bohemian dilemma? What is the answer God has given us and can we clearly explain it to those who are, maybe subconsciously or in other guises, living as Bohemians? Do we fall into the trap of talking about our faith and God as if they were mystical rather than truly integrated with reality?
