- Emphasis on innate goodness: Believed in an idealized concept of a "noble savage" representing humanity in its natural state as inherently good and unspoiled by society.
- Corruption by society: Views civilization as the corrupter, introducing inequality, competition, and moral decline as individuals depart from their natural origins.
- Natural Rights: Promoted principles of liberty, equality, and sovereignty of the people, influenced by natural rights philosophy.
Wordsworth:
- Childhood and Innocence: Viewed natural man as characterized by purity of heart, a sense of communion with nature, and heightened sense of emotions, largely experienced in children and reflected in poetry as memories of an innocent state.
- Pantheism and spirituality: For Wordsworth, nature is infused with a divine presence making the experience and contemplation of natural surroundings a pathway to spiritual truth and insight.
- Simplicity and Simplicity: Idealized a life close to nature and embraced qualities like humility, simplicity, and common people who lived such lives, drawing wisdom from them.
Both emphasized a closeness to nature as an antidote to societal ills yet differed concerning innate goodness, with Rousseau placing a broader and optimistic focus on inherent human virtue while Wordsworth highlighted nature's influence in evoking purity and simplicity in individuals.