Rousseau’s Rejuvenation of Political Philosophy: A New Introduction (Recovering Political Philosophy)

This Book Reads Jean-jacques Rousseau With A View Toward Deepening Our Understanding Of Many Political Issues Alive Today, Including The Place Of Women In Society, The Viability Of Traditional Family Structures, The Role Of Religion And Religious Freedom In Nations That Are Becoming Ever More Secular, And The Proper Conduct Of American Constitutional Government. Rousseau Has Been Among The Most Influential Modern Philosophers, And Among The Most Misunderstood. The First Great Philosophic Critic Of The Enlightenment, He Sought To Revive Political Philosophy As It Was Practiced By Plato, And To Make It Useful In The Modern World. His Understanding Of Politics Rests On Deep And Often Prescient Reflections About The Nature Of The Human Soul And The Relationship Between Our Animal Origins And The Achievements Of Civilization. This Book Demonstrates That The Implications Rousseau Drew From Those Reflections Continue To Deserve Serious Attention. Philosophic Anthropology In The Discourse On Inequality -- The Evolution Of Humanity In Language: Discourse On Inequality And Essay On The Origin Of Languages -- Greatness Of Soul And The Souls Of Women: Rousseau's Use Of Plato's Laws In The Letter To D'alembert -- Nature And Marriage: Emile Or On Education -- Political Legitimacy, Direct Democracy, And American Politics -- Conclusion. By Nelson Lund. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 271-278) And Index. Dedication 6 Texts and Translations 8 Acknowledgments 10 Contents 12 Abbreviations 16 Chapter 1: Introduction 17 Leo Strauss, Persecution and the Art of Writing 17 John Locke, Of the Conduct of the Understanding 17 Chapter 2: Philosophic Anthropology in the Discourse on Inequality 24 The State of Nature 25 “The Happiest Epoch, and the Most Durable” 28 Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and the Bushmen 31 Equality and Freedom Among the Bushmen 34 Social Discipline Among the Bushmen 37 Jealousy and Lions 43 Pre-Human Happiness 46 Proto-Politics 48 Conclusion 52 Chapter 3: The Evolution of Humanity in Language: Discourse on Inequality and Essay on the Origin of Languages 54 Greek Philosophers and the Problem of Language 54 Man Alone among the Animals Has Speech 61 Modern Science and Natural Sociality 67 The Structure of the Essay on the Origin of Languages 75 Primitive Language and Plato’s Cratylus 78 The Evolution of Languages 88 Language, Music, and Modern Science 94 Conclusion 103 Chapter 4: Greatness of Soul and the Souls of Women: Rousseau’s Use of Plato’s Laws in the Letter to d’Alembert 105 Economic Equality and the Education of Women in the Laws 106 Economics and Women 113 The Education of Women 118 Alternatives to the Equality of Women 128 Preserving Women from Miseducation: The Letter to d’Alembert 129 Happy Families 139 Unhappy Lovers 142 Men Unmanned 152 Republican Entertainments 154 Conclusion 157 Chapter 5: Nature and Marriage: Emile or On Education 162 Early Education in Some Thoughts Concerning Education 165 Rousseau’s Alternative to Locke’s Early Education 168 Plato’s Republic and the Transition to Adulthood 176 Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe 183 Rousseau and the Savoyard Vicar 185 Emile and Religion 190 Religion and Happiness 196 Letter to Beaumont 197 Moral Letters 199 Letter to Franquières 202 Love, Politics, and Fénelon’s Telemachus 205 Eros, Adversity, and Plato’s Symposium 212 Adversity Without Eros: The Solitaries 220 A Quasi-Epicurean Approach to Happiness 223 Chapter 6: Political Legitimacy, Direct Democracy, and American Politics 226 Political Legitimacy 228 Natural Rights 229 Hobbes 231 Locke 236 Rousseau on Direct Democracy and Political Legitimacy 238 Discourse on Inequality 238 Social Contract 244 Rousseau’s Pessimism about Liberalism 250 Rousseau’s Alternative to Liberalism 255 Considerations on the Government of Poland 266 Rousseau and the Supreme Court’s Term Limits Decision 271 Conclusion 277 Chapter 7: Conclusion 280 Bibliography 283 Index 291 Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction....Pages 1-7 Philosophic Anthropology in the Discourse on Inequality ....Pages 9-38 The Evolution of Humanity in Language: Discourse on Inequality and Essay on the Origin of Languages ....Pages 39-89 Greatness of Soul and the Souls of Women: Rousseau’s Use of Plato’s Laws in the Letter to d’ Alembert ....Pages 91-147 Nature and Marriage: Emile or On Education ....Pages 149-212 Political Legitimacy, Direct Democracy, and American Politics....Pages 213-266 Conclusion....Pages 267-269 Back Matter....Pages 271-282