Rousseau's counter-Enlightenment : a republican critique of the Philosophes / Graeme Garrard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Garrard, Graeme, 1965-

Series:

SUNY series in social and political thought

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1712-1778.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques.

Enlightenment--France.

Enlightenment.

France--Intellectual life--18th century.

France.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (207 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany, NY : State University of New York Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Arguing that the question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's relationship to the Enlightenment has been eclipsed and seriously distorted by his association with the French Revolution, Graeme Garrard presents the first book-length case that shows Rousseau as the pivotal figure in the emergence of Counter-Enlightenment thought. Viewed in the context in which he actually lived and wrote—from the middle of the eighteenth century to his death in 1778—it is apparent that Rousseau categorically rejected the Enlightenment "republic of letters" in favor of his own "republic of virtue." The philosophes, placing faith in reason and natural human sociability and subjecting religion to systematic criticism and doubt, naively minimized the deep tensions and complexities of collective life and the power disintegrative forces posed to social order. Rousseau believed that the ever precarious social order could only be achieved artificially, by manufacturing "sentiments of sociability," reshaping individuals to identify with common interests instead of their own selfish interests.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

The Enlightenment Republic of Letters

Philosophe, Madman, Revolutionary, God

Unsociable Man

Rousseau’s Counter-Enlightenment Republic of Virtue

On the Utility of Religion

Dare to Be Ignorant!

The Worst of All Possible Worlds

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-178) and index.

ISBN:

9780791487433

0791487431

9781417520343

1417520345

OCLC:

61367638