Lessons on Rousseau

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book Lessons on Rousseau by Louis Althusser, Verso Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Louis Althusser ISBN: 9781784785598
Publisher: Verso Books Publication: November 26, 2019
Imprint: Verso Language: English
Author: Louis Althusser
ISBN: 9781784785598
Publisher: Verso Books
Publication: November 26, 2019
Imprint: Verso
Language: English

Althusser dissects the leading Enlightenment philosopher

Althusser delivered these lectures on Rousseau's Discourse on the Origins of Inequality at the École normale supérieure in Paris in 1972. They are fascinating for two reasons. First, they gave rise to a new generation of Rousseau scholars, attentive not just to Rousseau's ideas, but also to those of his concepts that were buried beneath metaphors or fictional situations and characters. A new way of coming to terms with Rousseau's theoretical rigour, beneath his apparent reveries and sentimental flights of fancy, was here put to work. Second, we are now discovering that the 'late Althusser's' theses about aleatory materialism and the need to break with the strict determinism of theories of history in order to devise a new philosophy 'for Marx' were being worked out well before 1985 - in this reading of Rousseau dating from twelve years earlier, which introduces into Rousseau's text the ideas of the void, the accident, the take, and the necessity of contingency.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Althusser dissects the leading Enlightenment philosopher

Althusser delivered these lectures on Rousseau's Discourse on the Origins of Inequality at the École normale supérieure in Paris in 1972. They are fascinating for two reasons. First, they gave rise to a new generation of Rousseau scholars, attentive not just to Rousseau's ideas, but also to those of his concepts that were buried beneath metaphors or fictional situations and characters. A new way of coming to terms with Rousseau's theoretical rigour, beneath his apparent reveries and sentimental flights of fancy, was here put to work. Second, we are now discovering that the 'late Althusser's' theses about aleatory materialism and the need to break with the strict determinism of theories of history in order to devise a new philosophy 'for Marx' were being worked out well before 1985 - in this reading of Rousseau dating from twelve years earlier, which introduces into Rousseau's text the ideas of the void, the accident, the take, and the necessity of contingency.

More books from Verso Books

Cover of the book Reformation to Industrial Revolution by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book Mural by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book A Short History of Cahiers du Cinema by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book The Last Resistance by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book Russia Without Putin by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book The Murder of Rosa Luxemburg by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book The Philosophy of Marx by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book The Rise of Islamic State by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book Staging the People by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book One Man’s Terrorist by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book The Earth by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book The Ancients and the Postmoderns by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book The Enemy Within by Louis Althusser
Cover of the book Rhapsody For The Theatre by Louis Althusser
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy