Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction Clifford Orwin, Nathan Tarcov. 1: The Problem of the Bourgeois Werner J. Dannhauser 2: Rousseau and the Case against (and for) the Arts Christopher Kelly 3: Rousseau, Kant, and the Beginning of History Susan Shell 4: The Tension in the Beautiful: On Culture and Civilization in Rousseau and German Philosophy Richard Velkley 5: Rousseau and Freud on Sexuality and Its Discontents Joel Schwartz 6: Rousseau and the Rediscovery of Human Nature Roger D. Masters 7: Rousseau's Critique of Liberal Constitutionalism Allan Bloom 8: Rousseau and the French Revolution Francois Furet 9: Rousseau and the Origins of Nationalism Marc F. Plattner 10: Rousseau and the Theory and Practice of International Relations Pierre Hassner 11: Rousseau, Ethnicity, and Difference H. D. Forbes 12: Privacy and Community Steven Kautz 13: Rousseau and the Modern Cult of Sincerity Arthur M. Melzer 14: Rousseau and the Discovery of Political Compassion Clifford Orwin Contributors Index

Reviews

This excellent collection of essays from editors Orwin (The Humanity of Thucydides, Princeton Univ., 1994) and Tarcov (Discourses on Livy, Univ. of Chicago, 1994) makes large claims for Rousseau. Most of the contributors, who include Roger Masters, François Furet, and the late Allan Bloom, take Rousseau to be a systematic political philosopher of the highest rank. He was particularly concerned with the split between nature and culture in modern society and the unsatisfactory nature of the bourgeois personality. He has greatly influenced both rightist and leftist ideologies; but to these contributors, Rousseau's successors did not grasp the depth of his thought. Nearly everywhere in the book, Leo Strauss is a guiding presence. Highly recommended, although students should supplement the book with other perspectives.-David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., Ohio