The General Will before Rousseau: The Transformation of the Divine into the Civic (Studies in Moral, Political, and Legal Philosophy) - Hardcover

Riley, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691077207 ISBN 13: 9780691077208

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1986

Synopsis

Patrick Riley traces the forgotten roots of Rousseau's concept to seventeenth-century questions about the justice of God. If He wills that all men be saved, does He have a general will that produces universal salvation? And, if He does not, why does He will particularly" that some men be damned? The theological origin of the "general will" was important to Rousseau himself. He uses the language of divinity bequeathed to him by Pascal, Malebranche, Fenelon, and others to dignify, to elevate, and to "save" politics.

Originally published in 1986.

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About this title

From the Back Cover

"This is a remarkable book--a learned, lucid, and original study of the gradual transformation of a concept that derives much of its force from its until now forgotten origins. No one has ever told this story before."--Judith N. Shklar, Harvard University

From the Inside Flap

"This is a remarkable book--a learned, lucid, and original study of the gradual transformation of a concept that derives much of its force from its until now forgotten origins. No one has ever told this story before."--Judith N. Shklar, Harvard University

Reviews

This book chronicles the transformation of the idea of the "general will" from its theological roots in St. Paul and Augustine to its emergence as a purely political concept. Rousseau, it argues, gave the long-established Christian idea of the general will of God to save all men a permanently secular meaning by placing the common good of the community above the particular will of the individual. Focusing on the century between the death of Pascal, the first great writer on general will, and the publication of The Social Contract , the book brilliantly illustrates the evolution of this idea as the older religious world-view gradually gave way. An important work of intellectual history, highly recommended for academic libraries. Raymond Frey, Philosophy and Religion Dept., Montclair State Coll., Upper Montclair, N.J.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691077207
• ISBN 13: 9780691077208
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 290