Rousseau Nature And The Problem Of The Good Life

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Rousseau, Nature, and the Problem of the Good Life

Laurence D. Cooper
Rousseau Nature and the Problem of the Good Life Book PDF

Author : Laurence D. Cooper
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2021-12
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780271029887

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Rousseau, Nature, and the Problem of the Good Life by Laurence D. Cooper Pdf

The rise of modern science created a crisis for Western moral and political philosophy, which had theretofore relied either on Christian theology or Aristotelian natural teleology as guarantors of an objective standard for &"the good life.&" This book examines Rousseau's effort to show how and why, despite this challenge from science (which he himself intensified by equating our subhuman origins with our natural state), nature can remain a standard for human behavior. While recognizing an original goodness in human being in the state of nature, Rousseau knew this to be too low a standard and promoted the idea of &"the natural man living in the state of society,&" notably in Emile. Laurence Cooper shows how, for Rousseau, conscience&—understood as the &"love of order&"&—functions as the agent whereby simple savage sentiment is sublimated into a more refined &"civilized naturalness&" to which all people can aspire.

The Problems and Promise of Commercial Society

Dennis C. Rasmussen
The Problems and Promise of Commercial Society Book PDF

Author : Dennis C. Rasmussen
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2015-11-04
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780271076041

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The Problems and Promise of Commercial Society by Dennis C. Rasmussen Pdf

Adam Smith is popularly regarded as the ideological forefather of laissez-faire capitalism, while Rousseau is seen as the passionate advocate of the life of virtue in small, harmonious communities and as a sharp critic of the ills of commercial society. But, in fact, Smith had many of the same worries about commercial society that Rousseau did and was strongly influenced by his critique. In this first book-length comparative study of these leading eighteenth-century thinkers, Dennis Rasmussen highlights Smith’s sympathy with Rousseau’s concerns and analyzes in depth the ways in which Smith crafted his arguments to defend commercial society against these charges. These arguments, Rasmussen emphasizes, were pragmatic in nature, not ideological: it was Smith’s view that, all things considered, commercial society offered more benefits than the alternatives. Just because of this pragmatic orientation, Smith’s approach can be useful to us in assessing the pros and cons of commercial society today and thus contributes to a debate that is too much dominated by both dogmatic critics and doctrinaire champions of our modern commercial society.

Dreaming of Justice, Waking to Wisdom

Laurence D. Cooper
Dreaming of Justice Waking to Wisdom Book PDF

Author : Laurence D. Cooper
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2023-03-14
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780226825014

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Dreaming of Justice, Waking to Wisdom by Laurence D. Cooper Pdf

A surprising look at how Rousseau defended the philosophic life as the most natural and best of lives. Dreaming of Justice, Waking to Wisdom reveals what could be thought of as the capstone of Rousseau’s thought, even if that capstone has been nearly invisible to readers. Despite criticizing philosophy for its corrosive effects on both natural goodness and civic virtue, Rousseau, argues Laurence D. Cooper, held the philosophic life as an ideal. Cooper expertly unpacks Rousseau’s vivid depiction of the philosophic life and the case for that life as the most natural, the freest, or, in short, the best or most choice-worthy of lives. Cooper focuses especially on a single feature, arguably the defining feature of the philosophic life: the overcoming of the ordinary moral consciousness in favor of the cognitivist view of morality. Cooper shows that Rousseau, with his particular understanding and embrace of the philosophic life, proves to be a kind of latter-day Socratic. Thorough and thought-provoking, Dreaming of Justice, Waking to Wisdom provides vital insight into Rousseau.

Rousseau and Hobbes

Robin Douglass
Rousseau and Hobbes Book PDF

Author : Robin Douglass
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2015-02-12
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191038037

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Rousseau and Hobbes by Robin Douglass Pdf

Robin Douglass presents the first comprehensive study of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's engagement with Thomas Hobbes. He reconstructs the intellectual context of this engagement to reveal the deeply polemical character of Rousseau's critique of Hobbes and to show how Rousseau sought to expose that much modern natural law and doux commerce theory was, despite its protestations to the contrary, indebted to a Hobbesian account of human nature and the origins of society. Throughout the book Douglass explores the reasons why Rousseau both followed and departed from Hobbes in different places, while resisting the temptation to present him as either a straightforwardly Hobbesian or anti-Hobbesian thinker. On the one hand, Douglass reveals the extent to which Rousseau was occupied with problems of a fundamentally Hobbesian nature and the importance, to both thinkers, of appealing to the citizens' passions in order to secure political unity. On the other hand, Douglass argues that certain ideas at the heart of Rousseau's philosophy—free will and the natural goodness of man—were set out to distance him from positions associated with Hobbes. Douglass advances an original interpretation of Rousseau's political philosophy, emerging from this encounter with Hobbesian ideas, which focuses on the interrelated themes of nature, free will, and the passions. Douglass distances his interpretation from those who have read Rousseau as a proto-Kantian and instead argues that his vision of a well-ordered republic was based on cultivating man's naturally good passions to render the life of the virtuous citizen in accordance with nature.

Engaging Nature

Peter F. Cannavò,Joseph H. Lane Jr.
Engaging Nature Book PDF

Author : Peter F. Cannavò,Joseph H. Lane Jr.
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 317 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2014-12-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780262526562

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Engaging Nature by Peter F. Cannavò,Joseph H. Lane Jr. Pdf

Essays that put noted political thinkers of the past—including Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Wollstonecraft, Marx, and Confucius—in dialogue with current environmental political theory. Contemporary environmental political theory considers the implications of the environmental crisis for such political concepts as rights, citizenship, justice, democracy, the state, race, class, and gender. As the field has matured, scholars have begun to explore connections between Green Theory and such canonical political thinkers as Plato, Machiavelli, Locke, and Marx. The essays in this volume put important figures from the political theory canon in dialogue with current environmental political theory. It is the first comprehensive volume to bring the insights of Green Theory to bear in reinterpreting these canonical theorists. Individual essays cover such classical figures in Western thought as Aristotle, Hume, Rousseau, Mill, and Burke, but they also depart from the traditional canon to consider Mary Wollstonecraft, W. E. B. Du Bois, Hannah Arendt, and Confucius. Engaging and accessible, the essays also offer original and innovative interpretations that often challenge standard readings of these thinkers. In examining and explicating how these great thinkers of the past viewed the natural world and our relationship with nature, the essays also illuminate our current environmental predicament. Essays on Plato • Aristotle • Niccolò Machiavelli • Thomas Hobbes • John Locke • David Hume • Jean-Jacques Rousseau • Edmund Burke • Mary Wollstonecraft • John Stuart Mill • Karl Marx • W. E. B. Du Bois • Martin Heidegger • Hannah Arendt • Confucius Contributors Sheryl D. Breen, W. Scott Cameron, Peter F. Cannavò, Joel Jay Kassiola, Joseph H. Lane Jr. Timothy W. Luke, John M. Meyer, Özgüç Orhan, Barbara K. Seeber, Francisco Seijo, Kimberly K. Smith, Piers H. G. Stephens, Zev Trachtenberg, Andrew Valls, Harlan Wilson

Rousseau on Education, Freedom, and Judgment

Denise Schaeffer
Rousseau on Education Freedom and Judgment Book PDF

Author : Denise Schaeffer
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 242 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2015-06-13
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780271064468

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Rousseau on Education, Freedom, and Judgment by Denise Schaeffer Pdf

In Rousseau on Education, Freedom, and Judgment, Denise Schaeffer challenges the common view of Rousseau as primarily concerned with conditioning citizens’ passions in order to promote republican virtue and unreflective patriotism. Schaeffer argues that, to the contrary, Rousseau’s central concern is the problem of judgment and how to foster it on both the individual and political level in order to create the conditions for genuine self-rule. Offering a detailed commentary on Rousseau’s major work on education, Emile, and a wide-ranging analysis of the relationship between Emile and several of Rousseau’s other works, Schaeffer explores Rousseau’s understanding of what good judgment is, how it is learned, and why it is central to the achievement and preservation of human freedom. The model of Rousseauian citizenship that emerges from Schaeffer’s analysis is more dynamic and self-critical than is often recognized. This book demonstrates the importance of Rousseau’s contribution to our understanding of the faculty of judgment, and, more broadly, invites a critical reevaluation of Rousseau’s understanding of education, citizenship, and both individual and collective freedom.

Rousseau and the Problem of Human Relations

John M. Warner
Rousseau and the Problem of Human Relations Book PDF

Author : John M. Warner
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2016-03-23
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780271077239

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Rousseau and the Problem of Human Relations by John M. Warner Pdf

In this volume, John Warner grapples with one of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s chief preoccupations: the problem of self-interest implicit in all social relationships. Not only did Rousseau never solve this problem, Warner argues, but he also believed it was fundamentally unsolvable—that social relationships could never restore wholeness to a self-interested human being. This engaging study is founded on two basic but important questions: what do we want out of human relationships, and are we able to achieve what we are after? Warner traces his answers through the contours of Rousseau’s thought on three distinct types of relationships—sexual love, friendship, and civil or political association—as well as alternate interpretations of Rousseau, such as that of the neo-Kantian Rawlsian school. The result is an insightful exploration of the way Rousseau inspires readers to imbue social relations with purpose and meaning, only to show the impossibility of reaching wholeness through such relationships. While Rousseau may raise our hopes only to dash them, Rousseau and the Problem of Human Relations demonstrates that his ambitious failure offers unexpected insight into the human condition and into the limits of Rousseau’s critical act.

The Social Contract, and Discourses

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract and Discourses Book PDF

Author : Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Publisher : J M Dent & Sons Limited
Page : 330 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 1950
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0525026606

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The Social Contract, and Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Pdf

After an old university friend and fellow archeologist's murdered, forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway travels to Lancashire to examine the bones he found, which reveal a shocking fact about King Arthur, and discovers a campus living in fear of a sinister right-wing group called the White Hand.

A Liberal Theory of Practical Morality

Earl Spurgin
A Liberal Theory of Practical Morality Book PDF

Author : Earl Spurgin
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 307 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2021-05-25
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781786612250

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A Liberal Theory of Practical Morality by Earl Spurgin Pdf

Moral issues and questions abound in daily life. Media outlets frequently raise awareness of many, such as those concerning individuals’ right to privacy. The same venues seldom, if ever, raise awareness of others, such as moral issues and questions concerning our fantasies. Regardless of the level of publicity various venues afford particular moral matters, most people who become aware of those matters find many interesting and important. A problem most encounter, however, is determining the criteria through which they should approach the moral matters they wish to engage. Ethicists have long sought a moral theory that would provide the desired criteria, but most will grant readily that those efforts have not produced a generally-accepted theory. This book presents the author’s case that a kind of moral liberalism is the theory we should use to engage daily life’s moral matters. The author presents a conception of moral liberalism, argues that it is the best approach to practical morality in a plural society, and applies it to several of morality’s practical matters.

Rousseau's God

John T. Scott
Rousseau s God Book PDF

Author : John T. Scott
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2023
Category : Philosophical anthropology
ISBN : 9780226825502

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Rousseau's God by John T. Scott Pdf

"Rousseau's God offers a comprehensive interpretation of Rousseau's theological and religious writings, both in themselves and in relation to his philosophy of the natural goodness of man. John T. Scott argues that there is a complicated relationship between Rousseau's philosophy, on the one hand, and his theological and religious thought. This relationship revolves around two oppositions: first, between the attributes and psychological needs of natural man and social or moral man; second, between the criteria of truth and utility for evaluating theological and religious doctrines. In short, because the justification of nature through the natural goodness of man does not suffice for developed humans, Rousseau offers theological and religious doctrines which are less true than useful, psychologically, morally, or politically"--

Rousseau, Nietzsche, and the Image of the Human

Paul Franco
Rousseau Nietzsche and the Image of the Human Book PDF

Author : Paul Franco
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 183 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2021-09-30
Category : PHILOSOPHY
ISBN : 9780226800301

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Rousseau, Nietzsche, and the Image of the Human by Paul Franco Pdf

"Franco explores the relationship between Nietzsche and Rousseau and their critique of modern life. Franco begins by arguing that 'among philosophers, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Friedrich Nietzsche are perhaps the two most influential explorers and shapers of the moral and cultural imagination of late modernity.' And yet Nietzsche was often highly critical of Rousseau. Indeed, their critiques of modern life differ in important respects. Rousseau focused on the growing political and economic inequality in modern society and proposed a more egalitarian politics. Nietzsche decried the inability of society to take account of the exceptional individual and found Rousseau's political ideas wrong-headed"--Publisher marketing.

Rousseau's Theory of Freedom

Matthew Simpson
Rousseau s Theory of Freedom Book PDF

Author : Matthew Simpson
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 138 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2006-03-08
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781847143198

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Rousseau's Theory of Freedom by Matthew Simpson Pdf

Jean-Jacques Rousseau has a claim to be ranked above even Karl Marx as the political philosopher who has most influenced everyday life. His much-read philosophy of education alone would qualify him for a high place, but his political theory is even more important: decisions affecting millions of people were made based on the reading of certain lines of the Social Contract. Yet while politicians and scholars have studied this book for 250 years, almost no agreement exists on how to interpret its central concept: freedom. Rousseau's theory of freedom has led him to be called everything from the greatest prophet of individual liberty to the designer of the first totalitarian state. This book offers a new, unifying interpretation of the theory of freedom in the Social Contract. Simpson gives a careful analysis of Rousseau's theory of the social pact, and then examines the kinds of freedom that it brings about, showing how Rousseau's individualist and collectivist aspects fit into a larger and logically coherent theory of human liberty. Simpson's book not only helps us to understand one of the pre-eminent political minds of the 18th century, but also brings us into closer conversation with those he influenced, who have done so much to shape our world. And in light of the interest in contemporary contractualist philosophers like Rawls, Scanlon, and Gauthier, readers will find it worthwhile to return to the thinker who offers one of the most radical, profound, and insightful theories of the social contract ever devised.

On Philosophy, Morality, and Religion

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
On Philosophy Morality and Religion Book PDF

Author : Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Publisher : UPNE
Page : 316 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1584656646

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On Philosophy, Morality, and Religion by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Pdf

An essential general reader and course adoption anthology

Eros in Plato, Rousseau, and Nietzsche

Laurence D. Cooper
Eros in Plato Rousseau and Nietzsche Book PDF

Author : Laurence D. Cooper
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 376 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2010-11-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780271046143

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Eros in Plato, Rousseau, and Nietzsche by Laurence D. Cooper Pdf

Human beings are restless souls, ever driven by an insistent inner force not only to have more but to be more&—to be infinitely more. Various philosophers have emphasized this type of ceaseless striving in their accounts of humanity, as in Spinoza&’s notion of conatus and Hobbes&’s identification of &“a perpetual and restless desire of power after power.&” In this book, Laurence Cooper focuses his attention on three giants of the philosophic tradition for whom this inner force was a major preoccupation and something separate from and greater than the desire for self-preservation. Cooper&’s overarching purpose is to illuminate the nature of this source of existential longing and discontent and its implications for political life. He concentrates especially on what these thinkers share in their understanding of this psychic power and how they view it ambivalently as the root not only of ambition, vigorous virtue, patriotism, and philosophy, but also of tyranny, imperialism, and varieties of fanaticism. But he is not neglectful of the differences among their interpretations of the phenomenon, either, and especially highlights these in the concluding chapter.

A Discourse on Inequality

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
A Discourse on Inequality Book PDF

Author : Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Publisher : Open Road Media
Page : 89 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2016-04-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781504035477

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A Discourse on Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Pdf

A fascinating examination of the relationship between civilization and inequality from one of history’s greatest minds The first man to erect a fence around a piece of land and declare it his own founded civil society—and doomed mankind to millennia of war and famine. The dawn of modern civilization, argues Jean-Jacques Rousseau in this essential treatise on human nature, was also the beginning of inequality. One of the great thinkers of the Enlightenment, Rousseau based his work in compassion for his fellow man. The great crime of despotism, he believed, was the raising of the cruel above the weak. In this landmark text, he spells out the antidote for man’s ills: a compassionate revolution to pull up the fences and restore the balance of mankind. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.