The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding
Robert Zaretsky and John T. Scott
Language: English
Published by Yale University Press, 2009
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: Mesquite Booksellers, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.Mesquite Booksellers
AbeBooks seller since December 4, 2025
Condition: Used - Fine
US$ 28.00
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Softcover. xii,247. Fine- (minus) condition. Shelfwear at the bottom edge and (less so) to the covers. Otherwise as new. If you order this from outside the United States, we are likely to request an additional payment to help cover the postage. Every order includes tracking and is wrapped and robustly packaged with care in Tucson, AZ. ~Mesquite Booksellers.
Seller Inventory # 75186
- Title
- The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding
- Author
- Robert Zaretsky and John T. Scott
- Publisher
- Yale University Press
- Publication year
- 2009
- Condition
- Fine
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0300164289
- ISBN 13
- 9780300164282
- Seller catalogs
- History, Philosophy
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.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
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.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Mesquite Booksellers
Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since December 4, 2025
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Mesquite Booksellers specializes in history, philosophy and the social sciences. Most titles are academic press. We offer some heavily discounted Bradt Guides, as a service to the world-curious. We buy collections of academic books; please message us through AbeBooks should you wish to sell yours. More photographs of any book will happily be sent to you upon request. Please message us with any questions!
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History, philosophy and the social sciences. Most titles are academic press.Terms of sale
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