In 1758, Rousseau announced that he had adopted ""vitam impendere vero"" (dedicate life to truth) as a personal pledge. Despite the dramatic nature of this declaration, no scholar has yet approached Rousseau s work through the lens of truth or truthseeking. What did it mean for Rousseau to lead a life dedicated to truth?

This book presents Rousseau s normative account of truthseeking, his account of what human beings must do if they hope to discover the truths essential to human happiness. Rousseau s writings constitute a practical guide to these truths; they describe how he arrived at...