Justice and Difference in the Works of Rousseau
Justice and Difference in the Works of Rousseau
Bienfaisance and Pudeur
According to Rousseau, the best possible relationship between unequals is one of "benificence." This book addresses the problem implicit in his writings of whether it is indeed possible for a just and generous relationship to exist between non-equals. Judith Still draws together issues in Rousseau's work that are often treated in isolation: the state, just relations between individuals, sexual politics and the constructing of a feminine identity. Using techniques of reading drawn from literary theory, she argues that for Rousseau, it is sexual difference that disturbs the practice of benificence.
- Discusses an important question for gender and Enlightenment studies
- Situates Rousseau within context of eighteenth-century thought and its classical sources
- Of relevance to those working in politics, ethics, sociology and philosophy
Product details
April 2006Paperback
9780521025676
280 pages
216 × 140 × 16 mm
0.376kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- A preliminary note on vocabulary and conventions
- Introduction
- 1. The problem: the intersection of beneficence and pudicity
- 2. The code of beneficence
- 3. The practice of beneficence and model benefactors in the major works
- 4. The passion of pity in Rousseau's theory of man
- 5. Gyges' ring: A reading of Rousseau's 6e Promenade
- 6. Pudicity in some of Rousseau's minor writings: its relationship to beneficence
- Conclusion
- Appendix. Generosity and pudicity in Gyges und sein Ring and Le Roi Candaule
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index.
