Rousseau’s Discourse on the Arts and Sciences has skillfully tackled the question “Has the restoration of the sciences and arts tended to purify or corrupt morals”.
Rousseau started with a brief look at the current state of affair, where men are barred from opposing what has been considered right by society, and how this piece is dedicated to find the truth regardless of which side it aligned with.
Rousseau began by praising how man’s curiosity leads to inventions, how writing and thinking combined into a collaborative effort resulted in better works, and how society became a place where inner quality and surface appearance differ. Rousseau then took example from Egypt, Greece, Rome and Asia to discuss how in those society power are integrated tightly with intellect, after which he contrasted that bureaucratic attitude with the individualistic attitude presented in Persians, Scythians, Germans, destituted Rome and Americans, whose society are free from academic titles and ranking, thus cannot be broken by bad example.
Rousseau opened the second part with a note on how often human bad virtues gave birth to arts and sciences, how advancement in sciences requires sacrifices, how society made artists churn out contemporary works, before pointing out how luxury depletes morals, leading to taste corruption, thus destroyed military virtues, judgment, education, while adorn the mind.
Rousseau closed with a brief look at how the great men he admired acquire greater knowledge thanks to its integration with power and freedom, and how society should encourage and embracing not envying those who speak well and those who act well.