Geneva, 20 August 2012
Up until 23 June 2013, the musée d’ethnographie de Genève will be hosting the exhibition “C’est de l’homme que j’ai à parler, Rousseau et l’inégalité” which is based on French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men (Discours sur l’origine et les fondements de l’inégalité parmi les hommes).
Considered, according to Levi-Strauss, as a precursor of modern anthropology and ethnology, Rousseau introduced a new point of view on human nature and life in society with this revolutionary work. Evoking the social hierarchy of Genevan society, the exhibition puts “Rousseau in resonance with his contemporaries and with our investigations of the present, taking us on a trip from Geneva to the Pacific islands, passing through the Alps and the Orient”, as stated in the press release.
“One who reflects on inequalities—social inequalities or inequalities among peoples—his or her response is more relevant than ever”. Rousseau once said: “you are lost if you forget that the fruit belongs to everyone and that the earth belongs to no one”.