The article analyzes the philosophical and pedagogical concepts of the French philosopher, teacher and writer of the 18th century Jean Jacques Rousseau. His contribution to Western education lies in the fact that for the first time in the history of pedagogical thought, he placed the theory of age-related education of children at the center of the philosophical and educational system. In this theory he developed the ideas of naturalism and thus eliminated everything that interfered with the natural development of the child. The purpose of the study is to solve the following problems through the prism of the philosophical and pedagogical concepts of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. First, to reveal the essence of his age-related educational theory and trace its evolution. Secondly, to analyze how the philosophical and pedagogical theory of age education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau is connected with educational ideas. Thirdly, to clarify in what sociocultural conditions his age-related philosophy of education was formed and what influence it had on Western European and Russian education. Guided by this approach, philosophical and pedagogical research rises to the level of metascientific synthesis and solves the set tasks. Theoretical and methodological problems of the age education of children, developed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, have been repeatedly considered in Russian pedagogical science, but not always carried out according to the original texts of the author. The novelty of the study is due to the fact that the analysis of the philosophical and pedagogical concepts of Jean-Jacques Rousseau was carried out on the basis of Russian and Western sources, which give us a holistic view of the educational system of Europe in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. In conclusion, a conclusion is made about the relevance of the age-related philosophy of education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his contribution to modern pedagogy.

Keywords: age-related philosophical and pedagogical theory of upbringing and education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau; naturalism; pedagogical novel “Emil”; humanism; democratic ideal.