Rousseau and the Future of Freedom PDF Download

Author: Eric Deibel
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000807517
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 95

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Book Description
This book examines Rousseau’s conception of freedom and its significance for our modern technological world. Drawing on Rousseau’s thought to explore the changing nature of authority, science and technology in modern society, the book’s approach points to how Rousseau had a tragic conception of freedom, one that parallels the circumstances that characterize our own desire for freedom and democracy. Rousseau’s critique of progress is integral to his thought in general and underrated when it comes to our own studies of science, technology and society. This volume refers to cases from the world of "free software" to consider our own predicament with how a flood of code and algorithms that is being wrapped around everything from our stuff to our food, to our bodies, our brains and – by extension – our freedom. As such, it will appeal to scholars of social and political theory, philosophy and ethics, particularly those with interests in science and technology studies and the implications of modern technology for freedom.

Author: Christie McDonald
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139486241
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
Debates about freedom, an ideal continually contested, were first set out in their modern version by the eighteenth-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His ideas and analyses were taken up during the philosophical enlightenment, often invoked during the French Revolution, and still resonate in contemporary discussions of freedom. This volume, first published in 2010, examines Rousseau's many approaches to the concept of freedom, in the context of his thought on literature, religion, music, theater, women, the body, and the arts. Its expert contributors cross disciplinary frontiers to develop thought-provoking new angles on Rousseau's thought. By taking freedom as the guiding principle of their analysis, the essays form a cohesive account of Rousseau's writings.

Author: Robert Wokler
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719047213
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
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, and the origins, meaning, strength, weakness and significance of his argument.

Author: Tim Windbrake
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3346491633
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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Book Description
Essay from the year 2020 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 17th and 18th Centuries, grade: Upper Second, 68, London School of Economics, language: English, abstract: This essay argues that Rousseau fails to fully justify his claim that one can be forced to be free. Rousseau tries to argue that the general will can force citizens to be free, and while the positive notion of freedom manages to reasonably combine force and freedom on an individual level, it does not apply to society as a whole. This is because Rousseau fails to justify that restrictions imposed by the general will are ultimately self-imposed by all citizens.

Author: Daniel E. Cullen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780875801803
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
In this new interpretation of Rousseau's political thought, Daniel E. Cullen demonstrates that the concept of freedom is fundamental to the complex unity of Rousseau's work. He shows that the pervasive tension in Rousseau's thought between freedom and order, legitimacy and reliability can be explained as an effort to attune the political to the natural condition and to reestablish a condition of independence in political and social circumstances. Cullen's argument bears important implications for those who currently seek to bolster the case for participatory democracy by appealing to Rousseauian assumptions and conclusions. Cullen's aim is to clarify some of the issues that divide liberals from communitarians and constitutionalists from participatory democrats in the current debate about freedom, rights, morality, and politics in America. In affirming Rousseau's fundamental philosophical agreement with liberals concerning human nature and with conservatives concerning the character of a good society, Cullen suggests that Rousseau has offered perhaps the only possible theoretical resolution of the tension implicit in democratic freedom. In light of what Rousseau calls for in order to bring about this resolution, however, Cullen wonders whether the time has come to rethink fundamental questions about human nature and citizenship that underlie contemporary problems of political theory. Freedom in Rousseau's Political Philosophy will be of interest to scholars and students of the history of political thought and contemporary democratic theory.

Author: Denise Schaeffer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780271062624
Category : PHILOSOPHY
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
"Explores the writings of Rousseau, including Emile, Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, and On the Social Contract, focusing on the problem of judgment and its role in creating the condition for genuine self-rule"--Provided by publisher.

Author: Matthew Simpson
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1847143199
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
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.

Author: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0452010314
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
With splendid new translations, these four major works offer a superlative introduction to a great social philosopher whose ideas helped spark a revolution that has still not ended. Can individual freedom and social stability be reconciled? What is the function of government? What are the benefits and liabilities of civilization? What is the original nature of man, and how can he most fully realize his potential? These were the questions that Jean-Jacques Rousseau investigated in works that helped set the stage for the French Revolution and have since stood as eloquent expressions of revolutionary views, not only in politics but also in such areas as personal lifestyles and educational practices. Rousseau’s concepts of the natural goodness of man, the corrupting influence of social institutions, and the right and the power of the people to overthrow their oppressors and create new and more responsive forms of government and society are as richly relevant today as they were in eighteenth-century France. Includes: The Social Contract Discourse on Inequality Discourse on the Arts and Sciences “The Creed of a Savoyard Priest” (from Emile)

Author: Thomas R. McFaul
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313381976
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
This book offers a bold forecast of the year 2050 and what life will look like in the emerging global village. Is this profound new work, Thomas McFaul examines the interwoven concepts of truth and freedom in the context of the Modernist movement that has fundamentally reshaped our world. McFaul's thesis? Societies that make truth and freedom their signature values stand the best chance of prospering in the emerging global village. In The Future of Truth and Freedom in the Global Village: Modernism and the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century, McFaul relates the two cornerstone ideas of truth and freedom to the development of Modernism and its impact on science, religion, ethics, economics, and politics. This sets the stage for thought-provoking speculation as McFaul forecasts what life might be like in the year 2050, with scenarios that range from moving forward as a unified world embracing new possibilities to sliding back to the "good old days." McFaul's well-reasoned conclusion is that any society's long-term viability rests on having the freedom to adapt to changes in the modern world in new and creative ways.

Author: Donald H. Young
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1462083854
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Politically and economically, the future of the United States is at stake. In Restore the Future, author Donald H. Young seeks to galvanize the American people to guarantee a traditional future for our children and grandchildren through participation in a nonviolent Second American Revolution. This Revolution of the people is as justified as the first one, and it would be accomplished by using the extraordinary voting power granted to them by the Constitution to restore constitutional government. Without this Revolution, it can truly be said that the best days of the United States are behind it. In this treatise, he: reviews historical forms of government and shows how the founding documents created the pinnacle of the development of government to date; follows the outline of the Declaration of Independence in describing the many grievances we have with our government today, based on its extraordinary departures from the founding documents, which justify the Revolution; discusses religion, its importance to the Founders, the elemental morality it provides, and the importance of morality to the necessary function of society; discusses the nature of liberty, how it is different from freedom, and why maximizing liberty is one of the primary responsibilities of government; outlines the derivation of and the importance of the rule of law to the functioning of a society; highlights the tragic failure of American education by global standards; communicates the rationale for and critical importance of free enterprise and free trade and why free enterprise is the greatest engine for economic growth and personal development in the history of the world; provides a roadmap for the accomplishment of the Revolution.