GREAT THINKERS Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Major Works

• On the Social Contract

  - Recommended Translation: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. On the Social Contract, with Geneva Manuscript and Political Economy. Edited by Roger D. Masters and translated by Judith R. Masters. New York and Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1978.  
  The democratic and revolutionary principles put forward in Rousseau’s Social Contract have made it one of the essential texts of political philosophy since its publication in 1762. With this work, Rousseau’s sought to determine how civil society… More

• Reveries of a Solitary Walker

  - Recommended translation: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Reveries of the Solitary Walker. Edited and translated by Charles E. Butterworth. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., 1992.
  Like the Confessions, the Reveries of a Solitary Walker is an autobiographical work by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Published posthumously in 1782, the Reveries is a collection of ten books, or “walks,” that describe Rousseau’s wanderings around Paris during… More

• Confessions

  - Recommended translation: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Confessions. In The Confessions and Correspondence, Including the Letters to Malesherbes. Vol. 5 of The Collected Writings of Rousseau, edited by Christopher Kelly, Roger D. Masters, and Peter Stillman, translated by Christopher Kelly, 1–550. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1995.
  Published four years after Rousseau’s death in 1789, the Confessions was an autobiographical account of the first fifty-three years of the philosopher’s life. Rousseau declared that the work was groundbreaking with its opening line, “I… More

• Emile

  - Recommended translation: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile, or On Education. Edited and translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1979. Originally published in 1762.  
  Originally published in 1762, Emile, or On Education, outlined a process of education that would prevent man from being corrupted by society and instead nurture his natural virtues and goodness. Part-treatise, part-novel, the work recounts the life of a… More

• Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts (First Discourse)

  - Recommended Translation: ‘First Discourse,’ in Rousseau: The Discourses and other early political writings, ed. and trans. by Victor Gourevitch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 1-28.  
  In 1750, Rousseau’s First Discourse, or the Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, won an essay contest held by the Academy of Dijon on the topic of, “Whether the restoration of the sciences and arts tended to purify morals?” Rousseau argued that… More

• Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (Second Discourse)

  - Recommended translation: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “Second Discourse.” In Rousseau: The Discourses and Other Early Political Writings, 2nd ed., edited and translated by Victor Gourevitch, 111–222. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.    
  Rousseau’s Discourse on Inequality, also referred to as the Second Discourse, was published in 1755 in response to an essay competition held by the Academy of Dijon on the question of what was the “the origin of inequality among men” and whether… More

• Julie, or The New Heloise

  - Julie, Or, The New Heloise: Letters of Two Lovers Who Live in a Small Town at the Foot of the Alps, translated and edited by Philip Stewart and Jean Vaché, University Press of New England, 1997. First published in 1761.
  From the publisher: Rousseau’s great epistolary novel, Julie, or the New Heloise, has been virtually unavailable in English since 1810. In it, Rousseau reconceptualized the relationship of the individual to the collective and articulated a new moral… More

Other Works

• Letter to d’Alembert on the Theatre

  - Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Politics and the Arts: Letter to M. D'Alembert on the Theatre. Translated by Allan Bloom. Agora Paperback Edition. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1968. First published by Agora Editions, 1960.
  In October of 1758, Rousseau published the Letter to d’Alembert to refute Jean d’Alembert’s suggestion that Geneva establish a public theater. Rousseau’s essay critiqued the immorality of the Parisian theater and argued that a… More

• The Government of Poland

  - Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Government of Poland. Edited and translated by Willmoore Kendall. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1985. Originally completed in 1772.
  Commissioned by a Polish political leader who sought advice about how to best structure and reform the Polish government, Considerations on the Government of Poland (1772) represented Rousseau’s attempt to apply the abstract principles of The… More

• Essay on the Origin of Languages

  - Recommended Translation: ‘Essay on the Origin of Languages,’ in Rousseau: The Discourses and other early political writings, ed. and trans. by Victor Gourevitch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 247-299.
  Rousseau’s Essay on the Origin of Languages (Essai sur l’origine des langues) was first published posthumously in 1781. Rousseau wrote that he had originally intended to include this work in the his Second Discourse but that he finally decided to omit… More

• Letter from J.J. Rousseau to M. de Voltaire

  - Recommended translation: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “Letter from J.J. Rousseau to M. de Voltaire.” In Rousseau: The Discourses and Other Early Political Writings, 2nd ed., edited and translated by Victor Gourevitch, 232–246. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.        
  Rousseau’s “Letter to Voltaire,” originally published in 1756. Rousseau to Voltaire, 18 August 1756, from J.A. Leigh, ed., Correspondence complète de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, vol. 4 (Geneva, 1967), pp. 37-50; translated by R. Spang.  … More

• ‘Abstract of the Abbe de Saint-Pierre’s Plan for Perpetual Peace’ and ‘Judgment of the Plan for Perpetual Peace’

  - Recommended translation: ‘The Plan for Perpetual Peace,’ in The Plan for Perpetual Peace, On the Government of Poland, and Other Writings on History and Politics, The Collected Writings of Rousseau, vol. 11; ed. by Roger D. Masters and Christopher Kelly; trans. by Christopher Kelly and Judith Bush (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England at Dartmouth College, 2005), 25-49.
  Published in 1761, Rousseau’s The Plan for Perpetual Peace was an edited version of the Abbe Saint-Pierre’s plan of the same name. The work argued that a united federation of states was needed to maintain peace in Europe. Rousseau’s critique in… More

• Discourse on Political Economy

  - Recommended edition: "Discourse on Political Economy," Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Basic Political Writings, trans. Donald A. Cress, Hackett Publishing Company, 1987. Fist published in 1755.
  Excerpt: Even if there were as close an analogy as many authors maintain between the State and the family, it would not follow that the rules of conduct proper for one of these societies would be also proper for the other. They differ too much in extent to be… More

Commentary

• The Supposed Primitivism of Rousseau’s “Discourse on Inequality”

  -
  Arthur O. Lovejoy, "The Supposed Primitivism of Rousseau's 'Discourse on Inequality'" Modern Philology , Vol. 21, No. 2 (Nov., 1923), pp. 165-186.
  Excerpt: The notion  that Rousseau’s Discourse  on Inequality  was essentially  a glorification  of the state of nature and that its influence  tended  wholly or chiefly  to promote “primitivism” is one of the most  persistent  of… More

• [Book] Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Moralist

  - C.W. Hendel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Moralist (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merril, 1934).
  Excerpt: Late in the manhood of Rousseau the moralist was born. Ordinary men who mature under parental care and acquire their moral principles through the slow and unconscious processes of habit scarcely know such discovery of themselves as moral beings. But… More

• “On the Intention of Rousseau” by Leo Strauss

  - Strauss, Leo. “On the Intention of Rousseau.” Social Research 14 (1947): 455–487.
  Excerpt: The antiquarian controversy about the intention of Rousseau conceals a political controversy about the nature of democracy. Modern democracy might seem to stand or fall by the claim that “the method of democracy” and “the method of… More

• Natural Right and History

  - Leo Strauss, “Rousseau”, in Natural Right and History (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953), pp. 252-293.
  Excerpt: The first crisis of modernity occurred in the thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  Rousseau was not the first to feel that the modern venture was a radical error and to seek the remedy in a return to classical thought.  It suffices to mention the… More

• “Rousseau” in Protestant Thought

  - [Essay] Karl Barth, “Rousseau”, Chapter II of Karl Barth, Protestant Thought: from Rousseau to Ritschl (Translated by Brian Cozens from eleven chapters of Die Protestantische Theologie im 19. Jahrhundert) Harper & Brothers: New York, 1959, p 58-117
  Excerpt: With Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in the middle of the eighteenth century,  the new age begins which we call the age of Goethe, the age which  presented Protestant theology after Schleiermacher with the problem  with which it chose to concern itself,… More

• Rousseau the Pessimistic Evolutionist

  - Bertrand de Jouvenel, “Rousseau the Pessimistic Evolutionist,” Yale French Studies, No. 28, (1961), pp.83-96.
  Scanned excerpt: Rousseau had a profound impact upon the way of life of the late XVIIIth century: thanks to him many parents became aware of and  attentive to their  children; he fostered enjoyment of natural beauties and contributed to a change in the… More

• Aspects of Rousseau’s Political Thought

  - George Kateb, “Aspects of Rousseau’s Political Thought,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 76, No. 4, (1961) pp.519-43.
  Excerpt: In a review of Sir Isaiah Berlin’s Two Concepts of Liberty,  which appeared in The Times (London) Literary  Supplement,  the anonymous  writer  complained of the “slanders” that have  been lavished on the political philosophy… More

• “Rousseau on War and Peace” by Stanley Hoffman

  - Hoffmann, Stanley. “Rousseau on War and Peace.” American Political Science Review 57, no. 2 (1963): 317–333.
  Excerpt: For many reasons Rousseau’s writings on international relations should interest students both of Rousseau and of world politics. The former have been celebrating the 200th anniversary of Emile and Of The Social Contract. Those works, and the… More

• Rousseau and the French Revolution 1762-1791 by Joan McDonald

  - Joan McDonald, Rousseau and the French Revolution, 1762-1791. (London: University of London, The Athlone Press, 1965).
  From the publisher: From 1789 onwards there sprang up a fervent revolutionary cult of Rousseau, and at each stage in the subsequent unfolding of the drama of the Revolution historians have seen Rousseau’s influence at work. Mrs McDonald seeks in this study… More

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778

  - Jean Guehenno, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778 (2 volumes), Translated by John and Doreen Weightman (New York: Columbia UniversityPress, 1966).
  From the publisher: Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the first modern man. This tremendous two-volume biography, written in 1962 by French Academician Jean Guehenno and now translated into English for the first time, succeeds expertly in establishing… More

• Popular Sovereignty but Representative Government: The Other Rousseau

  - Frank Marini, “Popular sovereignty but representative government: the other Rousseau”, Midwest Journal of Political Science, Vol. 11, No. 4, (1967), pp. 451-70
  Excerpt: In recent years a debate over the status of classical theories of democracy seems to be shaping up. If classical theories of democracy are in for increased discussion and debate, Rousseau’s name almost certainly will figure prominently in the… More

• The Political Philosophy of Rousseau

  - Roger Masters, The Political Philosophy of Rousseau. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968).
  From the publisher: Masters writes in his introduction about the unity of Rousseau’s works: Man is naturally good but it is society that depraves. That is one way to characterize Rousseau’s thought. Man is motivated by two forces. One is… More

• How to Read Rousseau’s ‘The Government of Poland’

  - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Government of Poland, translated by Willmoore Kendall (Hackett: Indianapolis, 1985).
  Excerpt: “Jean-Jacques,” writes Rousseau in his Rousseau Passes Judgment on Jean-Jacques (the last and most bitter of his writings about himself), devoted six months…first to studying the constitution of an unhappy nation (i.e. Poland), then to… More

• The Evolution of Rousseau’s View of Representative Government

  - Richard Fralin, “The evolution of Rousseau’s view of representative government”, Political Theory, Vol. 6, No. 4, (1978), pp. 517-36.
  Excerpt: Rousseau’s intense opposition to representative  government  in the Contrat  social is one of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  his political  thought.  None of  the  leading  political  thinkers  among  his … More

• The General Will Before Rousseau

  -
  Patrick Riley, "The General Will before Rousseau," Political Theory , Vol. 6, No. 4, (Nov., 1978), pp. 485-516.
  Excerpt: No one has ever doubted that the notion of the “general  will” (volonte  generale) is central  in Rousseau’s political  and moral  philosophy;  Rousseau himself  says that “the general will is always  right,”-… More

• Rousseau and Representation

  - Richard Fralin, Rousseau and Representation (New York: Columbia University Press, 1978).
  From the publisher: In an illuminating and detailed study on Rousseau and Representation, Richard Fralin argues that Rousseau’s commitment to democratic principles and politics is not as strong as it appears on the surface of the Social Contract.  Fralin… More

• Rousseau’s State of Nature: An Interpretation of the Discourse on Inequality

  - Marc F. Plattner, Rousseau's State of Nature: An Interpretation of the "Discourse on Inequality," (De Kalb: 1979).
  A compelling interpretation of Rousseau’s Second Discourse and an examination of what the “state of nature” might mean.

• Montesquieu, Rousseau, Marx: Politics and History

  - Louis Althusser, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Marx: Politics and History (London: Verso, 1982).
  From the publisher: In the first two essays of this book, Louis Althusser analyses the work of two of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment – Montesquieu and Rousseau. He shows that although they made considerable advances towards establishing a… More

• Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau’s Social Theory

  - Judith Shklar, Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau's Social Theory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).
  From the publisher: This book, first published in 1969, is widely regarded as one of the best studies of Rousseau’s thought in any language. In it, Professor Shklar examines Rousseau’s central concern: given that modern civilisation is intolerable… More

• The Sexual Politics of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  - Joel Schwartz, The Sexual Politics of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980).
  From the publisher: Joel Schwartz presents the first systematic treatment of Rousseau’s understanding of the political importance of women, sexuality, and the family. Using both Rousseau’s lesser-known literary works and such major writings as… More

• ‘The First Times’ in Rousseau’s Essay on the Origin of Languages

  - Victor Gourevitch, “‘The First Times’ in Rousseau’s Essay on the Origin of Languages,” Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal 11, no. 2 (1986)
  Excerpt: Rousseau had begun the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality with the conjecture or abstraction of isolated, self-sufficient beings—one hesitates to call them men—and gone on to show how difficult, indeed how impossible it is to conceive why or… More

• Reflections on Rousseau: Autonomy and Democracy

  - Joshua Cohen, “Reflections on Rousseau: autonomy and democracy,” Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 15, No. 3, (1986), pp. 275-97.
  Excerpt: In this essay I discuss several recent studies of Rousseau’s political philosophy. These studies cover a broad  array  of issues, ranging from Rousseau on the nature of the will to Rousseau on direct democracy,  and from  the intellectual… More

• ‘To Persuade without Convincing’: The Language of Rousseau’s Legislator

  - Christopher Kelly, “‘To Persuade without Convincing’: The Language of Rousseau's Legislator,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 31, No. 2, 1987.
  Excerpt: Critics have long noted the paradoxical nature of Rousseau’s appeal to a solitary lawgiver within a social contract theory based on equality and consent. However, far from representing a compromise of the principles of equality and consent, the… More

• Rousseau’s Exemplary Life

  - Christopher Kelly,Rousseau’s Exemplary Life: The Confessions as Political Philosophy (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987).
  From the publisher: For Rousseau, “consecrating one’s life to the truth” (his personal credo) meant publicly taking responsibility for what one publishes and only publishing what would be of public benefit. Christopher Kelly argues that this… More

• “Jean-Jacques Rousseau” by Allan Bloom

  - Bloom, Allan. “Jean-Jacques Rousseau.” In History of Political Philosophy, edited by Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, 533–553. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.  
  Excerpt: “Rousseau begins the Social Contract with the celebrated words: ‘Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains. . . . How did this change come to pass? I do not know. What can make it legitimate? I believe I can resolve this… More

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the ‘Well-ordered Society’

  - Maurizio Viroli, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the ‘Well-ordered Society’ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988).
  From the publisher: This book studies a central but hitherto neglected aspect of Rousseau’s political thought: the concept of social order and its implications for the ideal society which he envisages. The antithesis between order and disorder is a… More

• The Discourse on the Origin and the Foundations of Inequality among Men: On the Intention of Rousseau’s Most Philosophical Work

  - Heinrich Meier, “The Discourse on the Origin and the Foundations of Inequality among Men: On the Intention of Rousseau's Most Philosophical Work,” trans. by J. Harvey Lomax, Interpretation, 16 (1988-89): 211-228.
  Excerpt: Rousseau in the Confessions called the Discours sur l’inegalite that piece  among all his writings in which his principles “are made manifest with the  greatest boldness, not to  say  audacity.”  That does not mean, to be sure,… More

• Rousseau’s Response to Hobbes

  - Rousseau's Response to Hobbes, edited by Howard R. Cell and James I. MacAdam (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1988).
  From the publisher: A collection of critical essays by two different authors but with one common purpose: to consider the response of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to the challenges posed in the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Specifically, we discuss the… More

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Transparency and Obstruction

  - Jean Starobinski, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Transparency and Obstruction, trans. by Arthur Goldhammer (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988).
  From the publisher: Jean Starobinski, one of Europe’s foremost literary critics, examines the life that led Rousseau, who so passionately sought open, transparent communication with others, to accept and even foster obstacles that permitted him to… More

• Rousseau’s Pure State of Nature

  - Victor Gourevitch, “Rousseau’s Pure State of Nature,” Interpretation 16, no.1 (1988).
  Excerpt: Heinrich Meier’s important new edition of the Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men invites us to rethink Rousseau’s account of the state of nature, and more particularly of what he calls the “pure”… More

• The Question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  - Ernst Cassirer, The Question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau; edited by Peter Gay (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989).
  Excerpt: I shall speak of the question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  Yet the very formulation of this topic implies a certain assumption—the assumption that Rousseau’s personality and world of ideas have not been reduced to a mere historical fact that… More

• The Legacy of Rousseau

  - The Legacy of Rousseau, edited by Clifford Orwin and Nathan Tarcov (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997).
  From the publisher: Few thinkers have enjoyed so pervasive an influence as Rousseau, who originated dissatisfaction with modernity. By exploring polarities articulated by Rousseau—nature versus society, self versus other, community versus individual, and… More

• Rousseau: An Introduction to His Psychological, Social and Political Theory

  - N.J.H Dent, Rousseau: An Introduction to his Psychological, Social and Political Theory (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988).
  From the publisher: Dent argues that Rousseau’s political ideas are the natural outgrowth of other interests and not simply the point to which all his other work tended. He shows how Rousseau’s ideas concerning the sense of a common life and the… More

• Reading Rousseau in the Nuclear Age

  - Grace Roosevelt, Reading Rousseau in the Nuclear Age (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990).
  From the publisher: For more than two centuries, the political writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau have helped shape many different responses to historical experience. While today’s readers are aware of Rousseau’s contemporary significance, his… More

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

  - Arthur Melzer, The Natural Goodness of Man: On the System of Rousseau’s Thought (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990).
  From the publisher: An artistic analogy–that of an old painting’s restoration–best describes Melzer’s excellent analysis and study of one of Rousseau’s key ideas: his belief in the natural goodness of Man. By systematically… More

• Rousseau: The Turning Point

  - Allan Bloom, “Rousseau: The Turning Point”, in Confronting the Constitution: the challenge to Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, and theFederalists from utilitarianism, historicism, Marxism, Freudianism, pragmatism, existentialism..., edited by Allan Bloom and Steven Kautz. (Washington, DC: AEI Press Volume 496, 1990).
  From the publisher: The 17 essays in this volume examine first the precepts of the Founding Fathers and their mentors. Then the most significant preconstitutional ideas are outlined, together with analyses of how they harmonize with the Constitution and how… More

• Jean-Jacques: The Early Life and Work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau by Maurice Cranston

  - Cranston, Maurice. Jean-Jacques: The Early Life and Work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
  From the publisher: “In the first volume of his trilogy, noted political philosopher Maurice Cranston draws from original manuscript sources to trace Rousseau’s life from his birth in provincial obscurity in Geneva, through his youthful wanderings, to… More

• The Theodicy of the Second Discourse: The ‘Pure State of Nature’ and Rousseau’s Political Thought

  - John T. Scott, “The Theodicy of the Second Discourse: The ‘Pure State of Nature’ and Rousseau's Political Thought,” American Political Science Review Vol. 86. No. 3, Sept. 1992.
  Excerpt: Since Rousseau, and perhaps because of him, political theory has often been characterized by a disjunction between considerations of human nature and questions of justice and law. Yet, reexamining the Second Discourse as a theodicy forces us to… More

• A Rousseau Dictionary

  - N.J.H. Dent, A Rousseau Dictionary (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992).
  From the publisher: The social, educational and political writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau have become enormously influential in the 200 years since his death. But the breadth as well as the depth of Rousseau’s achievement – he was amongst other… More

• Gendered Community: Rousseau, Sex, and Politics

  - Penny Weiss, Gendered Community: Rousseau, Sex, and Politics (New York: NYU Press, 1993).
  From the publisher: Rousseau’s writings reflect paradoxes and apparent inconsistencies with his principled commitments to freedom and equality. In this engrossing work, Penny Weiss wrestles with issues of gender in the works of Rousseau. Weiss attempts… More

• “Rousseau and the Romantic Project” by Allan Bloom

  - Bloom, Allan. “Rousseau and the Romantic Project.” In Love and Friendship, 341–368. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
  From the publisher: The author of The Closing of the American Mind argues that basic human connections–love and friendship–are withering away, asserting that humans’ impoverished feelings are rooted in an impoverished language of love.

• Freedom, Dependence, and the General Will

  -
  Frederick Neuhouser, Freedom, Dependence, and the General Will
  The Philosophical Review, Vol. 102, No. 3 (Jul., 1993), pp. 363-395.
  Excerpt: In his  Lectures  on the  History  of  Philosophy  Hegel credits  Rousseau  with an epoch-making innovation in the realm of practical  philosophy,  an innovation  said to consist  in the fact  that Rousseau  is the first  thinker  to… More

• Making Citizens: Rousseau’s Political Theory of Culture

  - Zev M. Trachtenberg, Making Citizens: Rousseau’s Political Theory of Culture (London: Routledge: 1993).
  From the publisher: By analysing Rousseau’s conception of the general will, Zev Trachtenberg characterises the attitude of civic virtue Rousseau believes individuals must have to cooperate successfully in society. Rousseau holds that culture affects… More

• Rousseau’s Civil Religion Reconsidered

  - Terence Ball, “Rousseau's Civil Religion Reconsidered,” in Reappraising Political Theory: Revisionist Studies in the History of Political Thought (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
  Excerpt: I ask and attempt to answer three questions. First, what role or place does Rousseau’s scheme for a civil religion occupy in his political theory? Second, what were Rousseau’s intentions—i.e. what was he attempting to do—in devising… More

• The Autocritique of Enlightenment: Rousseau and the Philosophes

  - Mark Hulliung, The Autocritique of Enlightenment: Rousseau and the Philosophes (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994).
  From the publisher: This text provides an analysis of the life and works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an area often overlooked in accounts of 18th-century heritage. Mark Hulliung restores Rousseau to his historical context, the world of the philosophes, and… More

• Rousseau

  - Robert Wokler, Rousseau (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995).
  From the publisher: In this compact, thought-provoking study of Rousseau’s life and works Robert Wokler shows how his philosophy of history, his theories of music and politics, his fiction, educational and religious writings, and even his botany, were… More

• Rousseau and Liberty

  - Rousseau and Liberty, edited by Robert Wokler (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995).
  From the publisher: Rousseau is considered to be at once the most modern political thinker of the 18th century and the most ancient in his allegiance to classical republicanism. These essays address the place of liberty in his moral and political philosophy,… More

• Rousseau, Critic of Liberalism by Pierre Manent

  - Manent, Pierre. “Rousseau, Critic of Liberalism.” In An Intellectual History of Liberalism, translated by Rebecca Balinski, 63–79. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.
  From the publisher: Highlighting the social tensions that confront the liberal tradition, Pierre Manent draws a portrait of what we, citizens of modern liberal democracies, have become. For Manent, a discussion of liberalism encompasses the foundations of… More

• Rousseau’s ‘Social Contract’

  - Hilail Gildin, Rousseau’s Social Contract (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985).
  From the publisher: Rousseau’s Social Contract unquestionably ranks among the most important and influential political treatises ever written. Yet, owing both its brevity and its complexity, it is often misunderstood. Hilail Gilding provides a… More

• The Noble Savage: Jean-Jacques Rousseau by Maurice Cranston

  - Cranston, Maurice. The Noble Savage: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1754–1762. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.
  From the publisher: “In this second volume of the unparalleled exposition of Rousseau’s life and works, Cranston completes and corrects the story told in Rousseau’s Confessions, and offers a vivid, entirely new history of his most eventful and… More

• The Solitary Self: Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Exile and Adversity by Maurice Cranston

  - Cranston, Maurice. The Solitary Self: Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Exile and Adversity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.
  From the publisher: A monumental achievement, Maurice Cranston’s trilogy provides the definitive account of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s turbulent life. Now available in paperback, this final volume completes a masterful biography of one of the most important… More

• The Force of Freedom: Rousseau on Forcing to be Free

  - Steven G. Affeldt, “The force of freedom: Rousseau on forcing to be free”, Political Theory, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jun., 1999), pp. 299-333.
  Excerpt: In this article I develop an interpretation  of the point and nature  of this  engagement of the social compact. While my concerns are in the first  instance  exegetical, I am also more generally  concerned  to address,  through … More

• Rousseau, Nature, and the Problem of the Good Life

  - Laurence D. Cooper, Rousseau, Nature, and the Problem of the Good Life. (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999).
  From the publisher: 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… More

• Rousseau on Providence

  - Victor Gourevitch, “Rousseau on Providence,” The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 53, No. 3, March 2000.
  Excerpt: Kant held that Rousseau and Newton had revealed the ways of  Providence: “After Newton and Rousseau, God is justified, and Pope’s  thesis is henceforth true.”  Rousseau discussed Providence and Pope’s thesis that… More

• The restlessness of ‘being’ Rousseau’s protean sentiment of existence

  - Eve Grace, “The restlessness of ‘being’ Rousseau's protean sentiment of existence,” History of European Ideas, Vol. 27, Issue 2, 2001.  
  Excerpt: The question of the sentiment of existence is central to Rousseau’s thought. For Rousseau’s apparent promise that salvation is to be found on earth for whomever is able to experience it appears as the heart of his claim that man is… More

• The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau

  - The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau, Edited by Patrick Riley. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
  From the publisher: Rousseau, the great political theorist and philosopher of education, was an important forerunner of the French Revolution, though his thought was too nuanced and subtle ever to serve as mere ideology. This is the only volume that… More

• Rousseau: A Very Short Introduction

  - Wokler, Robert. Rousseau: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
  From the publisher: “In this study of Rousseau’s life and works, Robert Wolker shows how his philosophy of history, his theories of music and politics, his fiction, educational, and religious writings, and even his botany, were all inspired by… More

• Being after Rousseau: Philosophy and Culture in Question

  - Richard L. Velkley, Being after Rousseau: Philosophy and Culture in Question (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003).
  From the publisher: In Being after Rousseau, Richard L. Velkley presents Jean-Jacques Rousseau as the founder of a modern European tradition of reflection on the relation of philosophy to culture—a reflection that calls both into question. Tracing this… More

• Rousseau’s Counter-Enlightenment: A Republican Critique of the Philosophes

  - Graeme Garrard, Rousseau's Counter-Enlightenment: A RepublicanCritique of the Philosophes (New York: State University of New York Press, 2003).
  From the publisher: Arguing that the question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s relationship to the Enlightenment has been eclipsed and seriously distorted by his association with the French Revolution, Graeme Garrard presents the first book-length case that… More

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: A Friend of Virtue

  - Joseph R. Reisert, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: A Friend of Virtue (Cornell University Press, 2003).
  From the publisher: Scholars have long debated the contribution Rousseau has made to political thought. Is he a theorist of radical individualism, a reactionary advocate for authoritarianism, or just a brilliantly paradoxical but ultimately incoherent… More

• Frail Happiness: An Essay on Rousseau

  - Tzvetan Todorov, Frail Happiness: An Essay on Rousseau, Translated by John T. Scott and Robert D. Zaretsky (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005).
  From the publisher: “We are all confronted, at one time or another, with choices as to what sort of life we will lead.” So Tzvetan Todorov begins Frail Happiness, an important interpretation of Rousseau, one suffused with Todorov’s own moral… More

• Perfection and Disharmony in the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  - Jonathan Marks, Perfection and Disharmony in the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
  From the publisher: In Perfection and Disharmony in the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jonathan Marks offers a new interpretation of the philosopher’s thought and its place in the contemporary debate between liberals and communitarians. Against… More

• An Essay on Rousseau’s Politics

  - Bertrand de Jouvenal, "An Essay on Rousseau’s Politics" in Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Critical Assessments of Leading Political Philosophers (Volume I), edited by John T. Scott (London: Routledge, 2006). pp. 79-140.
  Excerpt: Here we have the author who was the most praised, the most cursed, and the one who has exercised the greatest influence on the development of political beliefs and institutions.  Yet he is not a political writer.  Take a look at his oeuvre: those… More

• A Reinterpretation of Rousseau: A Religious System

  - Jeremiah Alberg, A Reinterpretation of Rousseau: A Religious System (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).
  From the publisher: In this radical reinterpretation of Rousseau, Jeremiah Alberg reveals the neglected theological dimension of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s philosophy. Alberg shows how only Christianity can bring the coherence of Rousseau’s system to… More

• Rousseau and l’Infâme: Religion, Toleration, and Fanaticism in the Age of Enlightenment

  - John T. Scott and Ourida Mostefai (editors), Rousseau and l'Infâme: Religion, Toleration, and Fanaticism in the Age of Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodolphi Press, 2008).
  From the publisher: Ecrasez l’infâme! Voltaire’s rallying cry against fanaticism resonates with new force today. Nothing suggests the complex legacy of the Enlightenment more than the struggle of superstition, prejudice, and intolerance advocated… More

• The Philosopher’s Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding

  - John Scott and Robert Zaretsky, The Philosopher’s Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009).
  From the publisher: The rise and spectacular fall of the friendship between the two great philosophers of the eighteenth century, barely six months after they first met, reverberated on both sides of the Channel. As the relationship between Jean-Jacques… More

• Rousseau’s Theodicy of Self-Love: Evil, Rationality, and the Drive for Recognition

  - Frederick Neuhouser, Rousseau's Theodicy of Self-Love: Evil, Rationality, and the Drive for Recognition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).
  From the publisher: This book is the first comprehensive study of Rousseau’s rich and complex theory of the type of self-love (amour propre ) that, for him, marks the central difference between humans and the beasts. Amour propre is the passion that… More

• Political Economy and Individual Liberty

  - Ryan Patrick Hanley, “Political Economy and Individual Liberty” in The Challenge of Rousseau, edited by Eve Grace and Christopher Kelly (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013).
  Excerpt: The Discours sur l’économie politique is indeed likely “the least commented upon of Rousseau’s political writings.” This is in some sense unsurprising; as a contribution to the subject its title proclaims to be its focus, it can only be… More

• On Strauss on Rousseau

  - Victor Gourevitch, “On Strauss on Rousseau” in The Challenge of Rousseau, edited by Eve Grace and Christopher Kelly (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013).
  Excerpt: Im Sinn der Philosophie ist es durchaus Pflicht, die falschen Ansichten zu missbilligen, zu verwerfen. Freilich muss man auch den Falschen, verwerflichen Ansichten gerecht werden. –Strauss, GS 2: 409 Strauss discussed Rousseau from first to last,… More

• Build on Sand: Moral Law in Rousseau’s Second Discourse

  - Eve Grace, “Build on Sand: Moral Law in Rousseau’s Second Discourse” in The Challenge of Rousseau, edited by Eve Grace and Christopher Kelly (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013).
  Excerpt: Rousseau is no moralist. It is, to be sure, in the name of virtue that Rousseau first indicted the dangerous dreams of a Hobbes and a Spinoza (FD, 20). There is no doubt that he condemns civilization outright as an inexorable march toward corruption… More

• Epistemology and Political Perception in the Case of Rousseau

  - Terrence Marshall, “Epistemology and Political Perception in the Case of Rousseau” in The Challenge of Rousseau, edited by Eve Grace and Christopher Kelly (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013).
  Excerpt: τὰ γὰρ τῆς τῶν πολλῶν ψυχῆς ὄμματα καρτερεῖν πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ἀφορῶντα ἀδύνατα. –Plato, Sophist 254b From the start, Rousseau’s published works on man and politics project… More

• Leo Strauss Seminar on Rousseau

  - Strauss, Leo. "Transcript of Seminar on Rousseau." University of Chicago, 1962. Leo Strauss Archives. https://leostrausscenter.uchicago.edu  
  Transcripts to a seminar given by Leo Strauss at the University of Chicago in 1962. Excerpt: Leo Strauss: I will speak about Rousseau in general and, starting from the most external side, of the way in which he is generally discussed today in this country. To… More

Multimedia

• Intro to Rousseau, The Social Contract, I-II

  - Video recording. Steven Smith, Yale Open Courses, "PLSC 114: Introduction to Political Philosophy," Lecture 20, 2006
  The concept of “general will” is considered Rousseau’s most important contribution to political science. It is presented as the answer to the gravest problems of civilization, namely, the problems of inequality, amour-propre, and general… More

• Intro to Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality (Part II) and The Social Contract

  - Video recording. Steven Smith, Yale Open Courses, "PLSC 114: Introduction to Political Philosophy," Lecture 19, 2006.
  The discussion on the origins of inequality in the Second Discourse continues. This lecture focuses on amour-propre, a faculty or a disposition that is related to a range of psychological characteristics such as pride, vanity, and conceit. The Social Contract… More

• Intro to Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality (Author’s Preface, Part I)

  - Video recording. Steven Smith, Yale Open Courses, "PLSC 114: Introduction to Political Philosophy," Lecture 18, 2006
  This lecture is an introduction to the life and works of Rousseau, as well as the historical and political events in France after the death of Louis XIV. Writing in a variety of genres and disciplines, Rousseau helped bring to fruition the political and… More

• Reflections on Rousseau’s Second Discourse and Social Contract

  - Montesquieu Forum Distinguished Lecture: "The Defect in the Natural Origin and the Problem of Law: Reflections on Rousseau’s Second Discourse and Social Contract," by Richard Velkley, Professor of Philosophy, Tulane University. November 16, 2009, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL.
  Richard Velkley of Tulane University lectures on Rousseau at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

• Melissa Lane on Rousseau and Modern Society

  - Melissa Lane, On Rousseau and Modern Society, Audio podcast.
  Modern society is synonymous with progress, isn’t it? Not according to the eighteenth century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He argued that civilization is for the most part morally corrupting. Melissa Lane explains his position in this episode of… More

• Occupy Rousseau: Inequality and Social Justice

  - Library of Congress, Occupy Rousseau: Inequality and Social Justice, Video recording.
  The Embassy of Switzerland and the Library of Congress presented Occupy Rousseau: Inequality and Social Justice, with an international panel and display of rarely seen Rousseau-related objects. Featured speakers: Guillaume Chenevière, former Director,… More

• Rousseau and the Modern Cult of Sincerity

  - Arthur Melzer, "Rousseau and the Modern Cult of Sincerty," University of Texas, Austin, February 12, 2010.
  Arthur Melzer, one of the leading interpreters of Rousseau, explains how the idea of sincerity in Rousseau came to influence modern thought and politics more generally.