The Challenge of Rousseau

Eve Grace is A. E. and Ethel Irene Carleton Professor of Social Sciences in the Political Science Department at Colorado College. With Christopher Kelly, she co-edited Rousseau on Women, Love, and Family (2009) and Letter to Beaumont, Letters Written from the Mountain, and Related Writings (2001). She has contributed essays to several volumes, including The Pious Sex: Essays on Women and Religion in the History of Political Thought (2010), Autobiography as Philosophy: A Collection of Essays on the Uses of Self-Presentations by Philosophers (2006) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Critical Assessments (2005). Christopher Kelly is Professor of Political Science at Boston College. He is co-editor of the series The Collected Writings of Rousseau (1990–2009) and the author of Rousseau as Author: Consecrating One's Life to the Truth (2003) and Rousseau's Exemplary Life: 'The Confessions' as Political Philosophy (1987). With Eve Grace, he co-edited Rousseau on Women, Love, and Family (2009) and Letter to Beaumont, Letters Written from the Mountain, and Related Writings (2001). He has contributed essays to The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau (2001) and The Legacy of Rousseau (1997).

“Eve Grace and Christopher Kelly have assembled a fine collection of essays of exceptionally high quality. They more than meet ‘the challenge’ of showing that there is coherence, consistency, and rigor as well as creativity in Rousseau’s thought. The scholarship is exemplary, combining careful study of the original texts, clear argumentation, and critical engagement with existing commentaries.” – Catherine Zuckert, Notre Dame

• Introduction Eve Grace and Christopher Kelly; Part I. Politics and Economics: 1. Rousseau and the illustrious Montesquieu Christopher Kelly; 2. Political economy and individual liberty Ryan Patrick Hanley; Part II. Science and Epistemology: 3. The presence of sciences in Rousseau's trajectory and works Bruno Bernardi and Bernadette Bensaud-Vincent; 4. Epistemology and political perception in the case of Rousseau Terence Marshall; Part III. The Modern or Classical, Theological or Philosophical, Foundations of Rousseau's System: 5. On the intention of Rousseau Leo Strauss; 6. On Strauss on Rousseau Victor Gourevitch; 7. Built on sand: moral law in Rousseau's Second Discourse Victor Gourevitch; 8. Rousseau and Pascal Matthew W. Maguire; Part IV. Rousseau as Educator and Legislator: 9. The measure of the possible: imagination in Rousseau's philosophical pedagogy Richard Velkley; 10. Rousseau's French revolution Pamela K. Jensen; 11. Rousseau's challenge to Locke (and to us) Jonathan Marks; 12. Stalking Puer Robustus: Hobbes and Rousseau on the origin of human malice Susan Meld Shell; Part V. Unease, Happiness, and Death: 13. Rousseau's unease with Locke's uneasiness John T. Scott; 14. Montaigne and Rousseau: some reflections Pierre Manent.