Abstract
Rousseau was the earliest and most profound philosophic critic of Enlightenment philosophy. The poisonous political fruits of his supposed influence on later thinkers are effects of inner weaknesses in the Enlightenment project that he only diagnosed. Cautious in proposing political reforms, Rousseau was bold in promoting moral reform, especially in his defense of “the small fatherland that is the family.” Rousseau has much to teach those who are alarmed today about the advancing corruption of Western civilization. At the same time, his analysis of politics and the human soul can help to rejuvenate political philosophy as an entrance to philosophy as a way of life.
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- 1.
Emile, O.C. 4:558, Bloom, 260 (in connection with the Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar ); Mountain, O.C., 3:683 (epigraph); Reveries , fourth walk, O.C., 1:1024.
- 2.
The best treatment I have seen is Christopher Kelly , Rousseau as Author: Consecrating One’s Life to the Truth.
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Lund, N. (2016). Conclusion. In: Rousseau’s Rejuvenation of Political Philosophy. Recovering Political Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41390-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41390-7_7
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-41390-7
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