"Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains"
These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigorous debate since its first publication in 1762. Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to wield authority over others, Rousseau argues instead for a pact, or 'social contract', that should exist between all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of sovereign power. From this fundamental premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and law, freedom and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some...
"Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains"
These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigo...
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 his return to Geneva in 1754 as a celebrated writer and composer. " An] admirable biography which is as meticulous, calm, reasonable, and judicious as its subject is passionate and tumultuous." Keith Michael Baker, "Washington Post Book World" "The definitive biography, as scholarly as it is entertaining." "The Economist" "Exceptionally fresh . . . . ...
In the first volume of his trilogy, noted political philosopher Maurice Cranston draws from original manuscript sources to trace Rousseau's life from ...
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 productive years. "Luckily for us, Maurice Cranston's "The Noble Savage: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1754-1762" has managed to craft a highly detailed account of eight key years of Rousseau's life in such a way that we can both understand and even, on occasion, sympathize." Olivier Bernier, "Wall Street Journal" Maurice Cranston (1920-1993), a distinguished scholar and...
In this second volume of the unparalleled exposition of Rousseau's life and works, Cranston completes and corrects the story told in Rousseau's "Confe...
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 philosophers of all time. "The Solitary Self "traces the last tempestuous years of Rousseau's life. ""The Solitary Self" is a fitting coda to a magisterial work. Cranston . . . is a compelling stylist who narrates Rousseau's tribulations with a mixture of compassion and dry humor." Thomas Pavel, "Wall Street Journal" "Cranston not only recreates for his...
A monumental achievement, Maurice Cranston's trilogy provides the definitive account of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's turbulent life. Now available in paper...
The Romantic Movement in Europe was both a revolt and a revival, a philosophy of life as well as of art. In the earliest expressions of romantic theory by Rousseau and Diderot, it is seen as a revolt against rationalism. In Great Britain and Italy it appears as a revolt against classicism, in Spain as a revival of the tradition of the Moorish courts, and in Germany, where it excited the greatest enthusiasm, as both a revolt against rationalism and a revival of the Gothic and Germanic.
Despite the differences of aim and emphasis across Europe, Professor Cranston argues that...
The Romantic Movement in Europe was both a revolt and a revival, a philosophy of life as well as of art. In the earliest expressions of romantic theor...
