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Quotation from Discourse on the Origin of Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“I dare almost affirm that a state of reflection is a state against nature, and that the man who meditates is a depraved animal.”
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, First Part, trans. Anonymous (Harvard Classics, 1910)
In a passage on health and disease, Rousseau argues that most human ills come from social ways of living, not from nature.
Citation: "I dare almost affirm that a state of reflection is a state against nature, and that the man who meditates is a depraved animal." — Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, First Part, trans. Anonymous (Harvard Classics, 1910). (id rousseau-discourse-on-inequality-q2)
Portrait: Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Public domain.
