Rousseau’s Negative Education and the Unconscious Alienation of Emile

Abstract: Dangerous things can happen in the name of good intentions and we, as teachers or parents, are unaware of the ways we hurt children. In the book Emile or on Education we see a fictional example of a pedagogical relationship between a teacher and a student, where the teacher -Jean Jacques- is eager to teach and raise his pupil, Emile, in certain ways, so as to make him independent and happy. Jean Jacques’ intentions are unquestionably good. His goal is to protect Emile and prevent his alienation by society, through the appropriate negative education. In trying to prevent Emile’s alienation, though, he creates another type of alienation, unknowingly and unintentionally. The aim of my thesis is to analyze the system of negative education and its negative consequences, focusing on the notion of alienation. Jean Jacques, while striving to prevent alienation, through negative education, created a new type of alienation, that is even more dangerous than the one he avoided. Thus, my thesis aims to raise awareness regarding the following: a) even when pedagogical processes are based on good intentions, they can still lead to negative consequences, b) upbringing and education are both a broadening and a narrowing process.