| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
090130
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2009.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Darwin's understanding of evolution as involving his original concept of natural selection involves discussions of development, progress, human pride, the construct o `primitivism,' and slavery. These discussions have to a remarkable extent been ignored by political theorists. This omission is all the more surprising in that these same discussions also call to mind Rousseau's often misunderstood concept of perfectibility.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
ID:
090131
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2009.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Rousseau's argument concerning gender and family relations in his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality is a Machiavellian one. According to Rousseau, while Machiavelli at first glance seemed to flatter the tyrants, he actually intended to expose their unjust rule. I argue that this original and provocative interpretation of Machiavelli provides a key to Rousseau's own understanding of women as tyrants, and the family as the seat of their rule. My interpretation begins from a number of apparently ambivalent passages found in its Dedication to the Republic of Geneva, and challenges prevailing notions concerning Rousseau's understanding of the masculine reason of the Enlightenment, the character of modern civilization, and the relations of power intersecting the private and public spheres. I also consider the implication of the fact that, although Rousseau attacked what he perceived to be a sinister matriarchy, his arguments have and continues to be appropriated by feminist authors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 3 |
ID:
087439
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2009.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Diderot's Supplement to the Voyage of Bougainville has often been read as a Rousseauian condemnation of modern civilization judged against the standard of pure Nature. A cursory reading of the Supplement does appear to present Tahiti as a natural utopia and Europe as a civilized prison. This essay rejects such a reading by demonstrating that the Supplement actually undermines any clear opposition between virtuous nature, represented by Tahiti, and corrupt civilization, represented by Europe. Although Diderot truly does offer a stinging critique of modern Europe, he refuses to offer "nature" as a redemptive alternative. Instead, the Supplement offers an implicit critique of the politics of moralism.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|