Timothy O'Hagan investigates Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s writings concerning the formation of humanity, of the individual and of the citizen in his three master works: the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality among Men , Emile and the Social Contract . O'Hagan gives Rousseau’s arguments a close and sympathetic reading and explores his reflections on the sexes, language and religion. O'Hagan writes as a philosopher, not a historian - yet he does not lose sight of the cultural context of Rousseau’s work.