The Legacy of Rousseau

Clifford Orwin

ISBN 10: 0226638561 / ISBN 13: 9780226638560

Published by The University Of Chicago Press Mär 1997, 1997

About this Item

Neuware - Acknowledgments Introduction Clifford Orwin, Nathan Tarcov. 1: The Problem of the Bourgeois Werner J. Dannhauser 2: Rousseau and the Case against (and for) the Arts Christopher Kelly 3: Rousseau, Kant, and the Beginning of History Susan Shell 4: The Tension in the Beautiful: On Culture and Civilization in Rousseau and German Philosophy Richard Velkley 5: Rousseau and Freud on Sexuality and Its Discontents Joel Schwartz 6: Rousseau and the Rediscovery of Human Nature Roger D. Masters 7: Rousseau's Critique of Liberal Constitutionalism Allan Bloom 8: Rousseau and the French Revolution Francois Furet 9: Rousseau and the Origins of Nationalism Marc F. Plattner 10: Rousseau and the Theory and Practice of International Relations Pierre Hassner 11: Rousseau, Ethnicity, and Difference H. D. Forbes 12: Privacy and Community Steven Kautz 13: Rousseau and the Modern Cult of Sincerity Arthur M. Melzer 14: Rousseau and the Discovery of Political Compassion Clifford Orwin Contributors Index.

Seller Inventory # 9780226638560

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Legacy of Rousseau
• Publisher: The University Of Chicago Press Mär 1997
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226638561
• ISBN 13: 9780226638560
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 230W x 154H x 21D millimeters 230 millimeters width by 154 millimeters height by 21 millimeters depth
• Weight: 558 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Few thinkers have enjoyed so pervasive an influence as Rousseau, who originated dissatisfaction with modernity. By exploring polarities articulated by Rousseau—nature versus society, self versus other, community versus individual, and compassion versus competitiveness—these fourteen original essays show how his thought continues to shape our ways of talking, feeling, thinking, and complaining.

The volume begins by taking up a central theme noted by the late Allan Bloom—Rousseau's critique of the bourgeois as the dominant modern human type and as a being fundamentally in contradiction, caught between the sentiments of nature and the demands of society. It then turns to Rousseau's crucial polarity of nature and society and to the later conceptions of history and culture it gave rise to. The third part surveys Rousseau's legacy in both domestic and international politics. Finally, the book examines Rousseau's contributions to the virtues that have become central to the current sensibility: community, sincerity, and compassion.

Contributors include Allan Bloom, François Furet, Pierre Hassner, Christopher Kelly, Roger Masters, and Arthur Melzer.

Reviews

This excellent collection of essays from editors Orwin (The Humanity of Thucydides, Princeton Univ., 1994) and Tarcov (Discourses on Livy, Univ. of Chicago, 1994) makes large claims for Rousseau. Most of the contributors, who include Roger Masters, Francois Furet, and the late Allan Bloom, take Rousseau to be a systematic political philosopher of the highest rank. He was particularly concerned with the split between nature and culture in modern society and the unsatisfactory nature of the bourgeois personality. He has greatly influenced both rightist and leftist ideologies; but to these contributors, Rousseau's successors did not grasp the depth of his thought. Nearly everywhere in the book, Leo Strauss is a guiding presence. Highly recommended, although students should supplement the book with other perspectives.?David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., Ohio
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