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Contemporary Perspectives on Early Modern PhilosophyExtending Nature: Rousseau on the Cultivation of Moral Sensibility

Contemporary Perspectives on Early Modern Philosophy: Extending Nature: Rousseau on the... [When in the Emile Rousseau declares that his goal is “to form the man of nature” he makes clear that by this he does not have in mind some naïve return to “the depths of the woods.” Instead, his text offers a nuanced vision of this task of formation, which rests on a unique model of the relation between nature and normativity. After examining this model, I proceed to a reconsideration of Rousseau’s well-known diatribes against society for its role in fashioning the distorted moral sensibilities of his contemporaries. Here I focus in particular on his perceptive insight into what accounts for the terrible success of society’s educational method, namely, the way it targets the full gamut of our intellectual, affective and imaginative capacities. I then show how Rousseau seeks to offer a sentimental education to rival this in which Emile is given bodily practice at seeing, feeling and responding to a very different set of impressions. Finally, I explore how Rousseau’s constant emphasis on the difficulties involved in managing such a program bring to the fore his view of the cultivation of moral sensibility as a complex art.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Contemporary Perspectives on Early Modern PhilosophyExtending Nature: Rousseau on the Cultivation of Moral Sensibility

Part of the Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Book Series (volume 29)
Editors: Lenz, Martin; Waldow, Anik
Pierdziwol, Annette
Contemporary Perspectives on Early Modern Philosophy — Mar 11, 2013
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References (13)

Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Copyright
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordecht. 2013
ISBN
978-94-007-6240-4
Pages
135 –158
DOI
10.1007/978-94-007-6241-1_9
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[When in the Emile Rousseau declares that his goal is “to form the man of nature” he makes clear that by this he does not have in mind some naïve return to “the depths of the woods.” Instead, his text offers a nuanced vision of this task of formation, which rests on a unique model of the relation between nature and normativity. After examining this model, I proceed to a reconsideration of Rousseau’s well-known diatribes against society for its role in fashioning the distorted moral sensibilities of his contemporaries. Here I focus in particular on his perceptive insight into what accounts for the terrible success of society’s educational method, namely, the way it targets the full gamut of our intellectual, affective and imaginative capacities. I then show how Rousseau seeks to offer a sentimental education to rival this in which Emile is given bodily practice at seeing, feeling and responding to a very different set of impressions. Finally, I explore how Rousseau’s constant emphasis on the difficulties involved in managing such a program bring to the fore his view of the cultivation of moral sensibility as a complex art.]

Published: Mar 11, 2013

Keywords: Natural Sociality; Moral Sensibility; Moral Cultivation; Moral Perception; Bodily Practice

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