The Natural Goodness of Man : On the System of Rousseau's Thought

The true key to all the perplexities of the human condition, Rousseau boldly claims, is the “natural goodness of man.” It is also the key to his own notoriously contradictory writings, which, he insists, are actually the disassembled parts of a rigorous philosophical system rooted in that fundamental principle. What if this problematic claim—so often repeated, but as often dismissed—were resolutely followed and explored? Arthur M. Melzer adopts this approach in The Natural Goodness of Man. The first two parts of the book restore the original, revolutionary significance of this now time-worn principle and examine the arguments Rousseau offers in proof of it. The final section unfolds and explains Rousseau's programmatic thought, especially the Social Contract, as a precise solution to the human problem as redefined by the principle of natural goodness. The result is a systematic reconstruction of Rousseau's philosophy that discloses with unparalleled clarity both the complex weave of his argument and the majestic unity of his vision. Melzer persuasively resolves one after another of the famous Rousseauian paradoxes–enlarging, in the process, our understanding of modern philosophy and politics. Engagingly and lucidly written, The Natural Goodness of Man will be of interest to general as well as scholarly readers. Rousseau a vu dans la "bont de l'homme" le principe qui permettait de comprendre toutes les complexits de la condition humaine, celles, surtout, de la vie en socit et de l'histoire. Arthur M. Melzer explore le "systme de pense" de Rousseau avec une minutie qui rappelle la faon de lire de Leo Strauss. Et c'est la cohrence de la pense de Rousseau qu'il rvle, ou plutt qu'il lui faut restituer en rapportant les uns aux autres les exposs toujours partiels que Rousseau en a donns au fil du temps et au gr des circonstances. Il claire en mme temps l'originalit de Rousseau par rapport ses prdcesseurs - Hobbes ou Locke en particulier - ou ses contemporains. Et il nous fait comprendre pourquoi cette oeuvre, qui a su capter les aspects les plus paradoxaux de la modernit, a exerc des effets si divers et si puissants. "Revenir la pense de Rousseau, souligne A. M. Melzer, nous permet de redcouvrir nos croyances prsentes, que nous considrons comme allant de soi et ne comprenons donc plus dans leur plnitude." The first great source of Rousseau misinterpretation has been the extraordinary strangeness of his personality and life, which has made it very difficult for scholars to treat his arguments seriously as arguments rather than as symptoms.To speak only of the aspect of Rousseau's thought to which the author primarily confines himself in this work, one must explain how 'the natural goodness of man' systematically produces the Social Contract. Through such an exposition, were it possible, one might reasonably claim to have understood Rousseau - the parts and the whole of this thought - in the specific manner in which he himself declares he must be understood. This present work attempts such an exposition. Pt. 1. The Meaning Of Rousseau's Fundamental Principle -- Pt. 2. Rousseau's Proof Of The Principle Of Natural Goodness -- Pt. 3. The Consequences Of Rousseau's Principle. By Arthur M. Melzer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [293]-301) And Index.