Summary:

Emile, or On Education, is a treatise on the nature of education and on the nature of man, which tackles fundamental political and philosophical questions about the relationship between the individual and society. The text is divided into five books: the first three are dedicated to the child Emile, the fourth to an exploration of the adolescent, and the fifth to outlining the education of his female counterpart Sophie, as well as to Emile's domestic and civic life.