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The Major Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The Two "Discourses" and the "Social Contract"

Jean-Jacques Rousseau author John T Scott translator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:The University of Chicago Press

Published:16th Nov '12

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

The Major Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau cover

Individualist and communitarian. Anarchist and totalitarian. Classicist and romanticist. Progressive and reactionary. Since the eighteenth century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau has been said to be all of these things. Few philosophers have been the subject of as much or as intense debate, yet almost everyone agrees that Rousseau is among the most important and influential thinkers in the history of political philosophy. This new edition of his major political writings, published in the year of the three-hundredth anniversary of his birth, renews attention to the perennial importance of Rousseau's work. The book brings together superb new translations of three of Rousseau's works: the "Discourse on the Sciences and Arts", the "Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men", and "On the Social Contract". The two discourses show Rousseau developing his well-known conception of the natural goodness of man and the problems posed by life in society. With the "Social Contract", Rousseau became the first major thinker to argue that democracy is the only legitimate form of political organization. Translation and editorial notes clarify ideas and terms that might not be immediately familiar to most readers. The three works collected in "The Major Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau" represent an important contribution to eighteenth-century political theory that has exerted an extensive influence on generations of thinkers, beginning with the leaders of the French Revolution and continuing to the present day.

"John T. Scott is one of the preeminent Rousseau scholars in the world, and he exhibits his expertise here. This new translation is in every particular superb: faithful to the French, albeit not mulishly so; and stylishly readable. Indeed, I think it combines these two qualities better than any other English translation that currently exists. Also, Scott's introduction provides a compass to navigate Rousseau's textual waters that will help both beginner and scholar to reach shore." -Stuart Warner, Roosevelt University"

ISBN: 9780226921860

Dimensions: 24mm x 16mm x 3mm

Weight: 595g

344 pages