What do you think?
Rate this book
Jean-Jacques Rousseau #1
Jean-Jacques - the Early Life and Work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712-1754
Romantic and charismatic, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential personalities of his age. Nevertheless, his reputation as a thinker has suffered as many triumphs and reversals as the man himself experienced in life. He has been called not only a great philosopher but also "an evil genius, a prophet at once of fascism and communism, an enemy of reason and science…a mountebank, a psychotic and a freak."
Now that Rousseau's works have been published and interpreted in disciplined manner, the way is clear for this major biography by a political theorist of international standing. Maurice Cranston has given us a masterpiece of research and presentation that unravels the paradoxes of Rousseau's thought by a detailed investigation of his life. Jean-Jacques reads like a novel with Rousseau as its picaresque hero, an adventurer who almost miraculously transformed himself into a great philosopher.
This first volume of Cranston's biography of Rousseau traces the evolution of Rousseau's attitudes through the influence of that unique Calvinist city-state, Geneva, his refuge in Catholic Savoy, and his introduction to the new 'scientific' ideology of the French Enlightenment; it follows his erratic career through Switzerland, France and Italy, his liaison with the laundrymaid, Thérèse, his succession of frustrating office jobs and his efforts to educate himself through reading and solitary reflection.
It then describes how forty years of poverty and humiliation suddenly came to a triumphant end with the publication of his Discourse on the Arts and Sciences and the performance of his opera Le Devin du Village.
Cranston also explores the evolution of Rousseau's ideas as a social thinker, which reached their culmination in his most 'revolutionary' work, the Discourse on the Origins of Inequality.
Now that Rousseau's works have been published and interpreted in disciplined manner, the way is clear for this major biography by a political theorist of international standing. Maurice Cranston has given us a masterpiece of research and presentation that unravels the paradoxes of Rousseau's thought by a detailed investigation of his life. Jean-Jacques reads like a novel with Rousseau as its picaresque hero, an adventurer who almost miraculously transformed himself into a great philosopher.
This first volume of Cranston's biography of Rousseau traces the evolution of Rousseau's attitudes through the influence of that unique Calvinist city-state, Geneva, his refuge in Catholic Savoy, and his introduction to the new 'scientific' ideology of the French Enlightenment; it follows his erratic career through Switzerland, France and Italy, his liaison with the laundrymaid, Thérèse, his succession of frustrating office jobs and his efforts to educate himself through reading and solitary reflection.
It then describes how forty years of poverty and humiliation suddenly came to a triumphant end with the publication of his Discourse on the Arts and Sciences and the performance of his opera Le Devin du Village.
Cranston also explores the evolution of Rousseau's ideas as a social thinker, which reached their culmination in his most 'revolutionary' work, the Discourse on the Origins of Inequality.
382 pages, Hardcover
First published June 22, 1983
1 person is currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Maurice Cranston
67 books8 followersMaurice William Cranston was an English philosopher, professor, and author. He served for many years as Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics, and was also known for his popular publications. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he was Professor of Political Theory at the European University Institute in Florence (Italy).
Cranston's major works include biographies of John Locke, for which he received the 1957 James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and Rousseau, Jean-Paul Sartre, and others addressing the history of liberty. He contributed to many publications in both Britain and the United States and wrote scripts for the BBC. In 1946 two of his detective novels were published by John Westhouse: Tomorrow We'll Be Sober and Philosopher's Hemlock.
Cranston's intellectual abilities were varied. His first academic book, Freedom: A New Analysis (1954), covered history (the history of liberalism), politics (a precursive discussion of what Sir Isaiah Berlin would later analyse as negative and positive liberty) and a philosophical attempt to resolve or at least elucidate freedom of the will. The philosophical section was the least successful; and Cranston never again attempted pure philosophy. His main academic strengths were as a biographer and as an intellectual historian.
In his later years, Cranston moved to the political right, and expressed admiration for Margaret Thatcher. Cranston also contributed to The American Spectator magazine.
He died of a heart attack while taping a television production in London for the BBC.
(excerpted from Wikipedia)
Cranston's major works include biographies of John Locke, for which he received the 1957 James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and Rousseau, Jean-Paul Sartre, and others addressing the history of liberty. He contributed to many publications in both Britain and the United States and wrote scripts for the BBC. In 1946 two of his detective novels were published by John Westhouse: Tomorrow We'll Be Sober and Philosopher's Hemlock.
Cranston's intellectual abilities were varied. His first academic book, Freedom: A New Analysis (1954), covered history (the history of liberalism), politics (a precursive discussion of what Sir Isaiah Berlin would later analyse as negative and positive liberty) and a philosophical attempt to resolve or at least elucidate freedom of the will. The philosophical section was the least successful; and Cranston never again attempted pure philosophy. His main academic strengths were as a biographer and as an intellectual historian.
In his later years, Cranston moved to the political right, and expressed admiration for Margaret Thatcher. Cranston also contributed to The American Spectator magazine.
He died of a heart attack while taping a television production in London for the BBC.
(excerpted from Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 17, 2021
Interesting and very readable biography about a complex and 'marmite' figure. Whilst I can't say I've come away with any greater liking for rousseau and his philosophies, I can say I have a much greater understanding of why he has had such an influence on Philosophical thinking across the ages. Well worth a read.
November 19, 2013
As far as biographies go, I found this one dull. At 250 it picks up some with actual concentration on his work, but quickly descends once again into the amorous experiences of Rousseau. I excuse the author the continual references to "adorable brunettes" and other lovely ladies, as it appears to occupy a great deal of Rousseau's own attention. However, inevitably almost every person in his life is introduced in one way or another based on their adultery, mistresses, lovers, etc. It got overwhelming, then irritating. I was not looking for a Gossip Girl revamp. While biographies are under no compulsion to make their study likable, they should at least be interesting. Rousseau may have always been truly ill, but he comes off as a hypochondriac. I'm sick of his unfulfilled sexual desires. I like him even less than when I began. When Rousseau isn't up to his old tricks, the books goes off on his friend's actions. Was Rousseau known for his Social Contract theory or creepy obsession with women? I wouldn't know after finishing this book.
April 14, 2009
I read all three volumes of Cranston's biography of Rousseau, and althought the work is a bit dry I finished with the sense that I know both the intellectual and emotional dimensions of the man as well as most any biography of Rousseau could convey. But then again Richard Holmes hasn't decided to write about him.
I wish Cranston had eliminated much of the discussion of R's social life. I really do not need to read of every dinner engagement, every conversation, every evening in one salon or another.
I wish Cranston had eliminated much of the discussion of R's social life. I really do not need to read of every dinner engagement, every conversation, every evening in one salon or another.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews