Emile

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Michael Wu

ISBN 10: 0465019315 / ISBN 13: 9780465019311

Published by Basic Books, US, 1979

About this Item

Alan Bloom's new translation of Emile , Rousseau's masterpiece on the education and training of the young, is the first in more than seventy years. In it, Bloom, whose magnificent translation of Plato's Republic has been universally hailed as a virtual rediscovery of that timeless text, again brings together the translator's gift for journeying between two languages and cultures and the philosopher's perception of the true meaning and significance of the issues being examined in the work. The result is a clear, readable, and highly engrossing text that at the same time offers a wholly new sense of the importance and relevance of Rousseau's thought to us.In addition to his translation, Bloom provides a brilliant introduction that relates the structure and themes of the book to the vital preoccupation's of our own age, particularly in the field of education, but also more generally to the current concerns about the limits and possibilities of human nature. Thus in this translation Emile, long a classic in the history of Western thought and educational theory, becomes something more: a prescription, fresh and dazzling, for the bringing up of autonomous, responsible,that is, truly democratic,human beings.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780465019311

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Emile
• Publisher: Basic Books, US
• Publication Date: 1979
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465019315
• ISBN 13: 9780465019311
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 526 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The definitive translation of Rousseau’s Emile, a foundational text in the philosophy of education

Widely hailed as the most accessible and authoritative edition of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Emile, or On Education, this acclaimed translation by bestselling author Alan Bloom elevates what Rousseau considered to be the “best and most important” of his published writing into something more: a prescription, fresh and dazzling, for the education of autonomous, responsible—and truly democratic—human beings. Initially published in 1763 at the height of the Enlightenment, Emile articulates Rousseau’s philosophy of education through the novelistic device of a fictional tutor’s encounters with his pupil from infancy to adolescence, illustrating how ideal citizens can be raised to survive in a corrupt society.

In addition to his translation of this classic of Enlightenment philosophy, Bloom offers an incisive introduction that connects the structure and themes of Rousseau’s book to timeless questions about teaching children which have persisted in the field of education, helping readers understand how to implement the philosopher’s broader insights into the possibilities—and limitations—of human nature.

About the Author

Allan Bloom (1930-1992) was a professor of social thought at the University of Chicago. He was the author and translator of many books, including The Republic of Plato and the number one bestseller The Closing of the American Mind.