大象传媒

'Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.'

Jean Jacques Rousseau's writing influenced revolutionary thought from the French Revolution to Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. He was an enlightenment figure who influenced the Romantics and Wordsworth. He wrote the first autobiography, The Confessions, he was a composer and a musician and was a revolutionary thinker on education and the prison system.

To mark the 300th anniversary of his birth and discuss why Rousseau still matters today Philip Dodd is joined by the novelist Lawrence Norfolk, philosopher Susan James, Professor of Intellectual History Richard Whatmore and specialist in 18th Century Literature Lucy Powell. The actor Samuel West will be reading from Rousseau's work.

Producer: Allegra McIlroy.