Publisher's Synopsis
The argument of this dissertation is that Rousseau's philosophy entails a fully developed teleological position that re-envisions the world as a perfect but mutable state of affairs so as to bring about the reconciliation of freedom and ends. This Rousseau is simultaneously more moderate in his positions and more ambitious in his philosophic goals than the Rousseaus that have emerged in previous interpretations. Unfortunately, this Rousseau has been hidden by centuries of interpretation that have not fully transcended his Socratism, or his meticulous, inductive pedagogy. The Rousseaus we know-typically either the individualist Rousseau of the Second Discourse or the collectivist Rousseau of the Social Contract-are incomplete. The Rousseau that emerges in this study is still the one who we have come to recognize as an icon of the modern turn, but one who has a much more well thought out understanding of teleology than is generally assumed by his readers, and especially those who focus mainly on the Second Discourse or the Social Contract. This Rousseau, often eclipsed by the others, is the Rousseau concerned with restoring the wholeness represented by the natural and pre-rational, prediscursive human state, who realizes the futility of a return to the natural state, and who instead attempts to mitigate the corruptive forces inherent in civil society. This Rousseau still maintains a strong conception of human freedom, but is nevertheless a teleological thinker whose thought on these matters entails an understanding of natural disposition, if not a clear set of ends orienting man toward ongoing perfection.
