The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding

Robert Zaretsky, John T. Scott

ISBN 10: 0300121938 / ISBN 13: 9780300121933

Published by Yale University Press, 2009

About this Item

The rise and spectacular fall of the friendship between the two great philosophers of the 18th century, barely six months after they first met, reverberated on both sides of the Channel. Their rancorous letters were quickly published and devoured by aristocrats, intellectuals, and common readers alike. Everyone, it seems, wanted in on the fray. This lively and revealing book explores the unfolding rift between Rousseau and Hume, with a focus on the way that the failure of each to understand the other - and himself - illuminates the limits of human understanding. Notes, Index. B&W illus. 247p.

Seller Inventory # 1908371

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300121938
• ISBN 13: 9780300121933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • PHILOSOPHY

About this title

Synopsis

The rise and spectacular fall of the friendship between the two great philosophers of the eighteenth century, barely six months after they first met, reverberated on both sides of the Channel. As the relationship between Jean-Jacques Rousseau and David Hume unraveled, a volley of rancorous letters was fired off, then quickly published and devoured by aristocrats, intellectuals, and common readers alike. Everyone took sides in this momentous dispute between the greatest of Enlightenment thinkers.

In this lively and revealing book, Robert Zaretsky and John T. Scott explore the unfolding rift between Rousseau and Hume. The authors are particularly fascinated by the connection between the thinkers’ lives and thought, especially the way that the failure of each to understand the other—and himself—illuminates the limits of human understanding. In addition, they situate the philosophers’ quarrel in the social, political, and intellectual milieu that informed their actions, as well as the actions of the other participants in the dispute, such as James Boswell, Adam Smith, and Voltaire. By examining the conflict through the prism of each philosopher’s contribution to Western thought, Zaretsky and Scott reveal the implications for the two men as individuals and philosophers as well as for the contemporary world.

About the Author

Robert Zaretsky is professor of French, Honors College, University of Houston. John T. Scott is professor of political science, University of California, Davis. Zaretsky and Scott are also coauthors of  Frail Happiness: An Essay on Rousseau.