Rousseau: A Very Short Introduction

by Robert Wokler

Overview

One of the most profound thinkers of modern history, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) was a central figure of the European Enlightenment. He was also its most formidable critic, condemning the political, economic, theological, and sexual trappings of civilization along lines that would excite the enthusiasm of individualists and radical revolutionaries alike.

In this 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, even his botany, were all inspired by visionary ideals of mankind's self-realization in a condition of unfettered freedom. He explains how, in regressing to classical republicanism, ancient mythology, direct communion with God, and solitude, Rousseau anticipated some post-modernist rejections of the Enlightenment as well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191604423
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	08/23/2001
Series:	Very Short Introductions , #48
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Robert Wokler is based at the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University, where he is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science and the Special Program in the Humanities.