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Rousseau as Author

Consecrating One's Life to the Truth

Christopher Kelly author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:The University of Chicago Press

Published:17th Jan '03

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Rousseau as Author cover

For Rousseau, "consecrating one's life to the truth" (his personal credo) meant publicly taking responsibility for what one published and only publishing what would be of public benefit. Christopher Kelly argues that this commitment is central to understanding the relationship between Rousseau's writings and his political philosophy. Unlike many other writers of his day, Rousseau refused to publish anonymously, even though he risked persecution for his writings. But Rousseau felt that authors must be self-restrained, as well as bold, and must carefully consider the potential political effects of what they might publish: sometimes seeking the good conflicts with writing the truth. Kelly shows how this understanding of public authorship played a crucial role in Rousseau's conception - and practice - of citizenship and political action. "Rousseau as Author" should be a ground-breaking book not just for Rousseau scholars, but for anyone studying Enlightenment ideas about authorship and responsibility.

"A wide-ranging and thoughtful study of Rousseau as an author who deeply considered the responsibilities of authorship. Kelly's study covers Rousseau's entire corpus with impressive familiarity and insight, offering fresh looks at the thinker's most famous philosophical works and novels, as well as explorations of the very nooks and crannies of his vast oeuvre." - John T. Scott, University of California, Davis

ISBN: 9780226430232

Dimensions: 24mm x 16mm x 2mm

Weight: 454g

218 pages