On the Social Contract, or, The Leading Ideas of the Law of the State

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1712-1778Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.5
Word count
327K words
Chapters
33

Tags

Foreign Language Books Western PhilosophyPolitics History of PhilosophyPower GameCivic AwarenessIntellectual EnlightenmentWestern ThoughtAcademic Monograph

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Yhteiskuntasopimuksesta, eli, Valtio-oikeuden johtavat aatteet by RousseauAuthor: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1712-1778,Language: Finnish, Class: JC: Political science: Political theory, Release Date: Nov 25, 2016

Editor's review

This Finnish-language electronic edition of Rousseau's The Social Contract is a classic text in the history of political thought. Its core value lies in its systematic discussion of the relationship between sovereignty, the general will, freedom and legitimate rule, which has had a profound influence on later political philosophy. This edition is in Finnish and is suitable for researchers who need the Finnish text, for scholars of comparative literature and translation studies, and for readers who wish to approach Rousseau's argument in the original language. The difficulty of reading lies not in length but in conceptual density: terms such as the general will, the sovereign and civil religion need to be repeatedly examined in context, and Rousseau's argument is often interspersed with historical examples, which can easily cause first-time readers to lose the main thread. It is recommended to treat it as a theoretical work that requires slow reading and note-taking rather than commuter reading; if Finnish reading ability is limited, other language translations can be used alongside for comprehension.

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Reading tips

  1. First read the overall structure or introductory material to clarify the theme of each book, then proceed chapter by chapter
  2. Prepare a glossary and record how key terms such as the general will and the sovereign are used in context
  3. After finishing each book, write a paragraph summary to check whether you have grasped the main line of argument
  4. Other language translations may be consulted for difficult sentences, but the Finnish text should be the basis for the argument

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33

FAQ

Is this edition a Chinese translation? No. This electronic edition is in Finnish, and the title is also in Finnish. It is suitable for Finnish readers or researchers doing comparative translation work.
Can I understand it without a philosophical background? You can try, but it is quite difficult. Rousseau's concepts are dense and his argument jumps, so it is advisable to read an introduction to political philosophy or a related guide first before entering the main text.
Do I need to take notes while reading? It is recommended. Concepts recur throughout the book and their meanings change with context; recording key terms and summaries of each book can significantly reduce the burden of understanding.

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About the author

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1712-1778 Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a major thinker and writer of the French Enlightenment whose works have had a lasting influence on philosophy, education, and literature. The collection holds 21 of his works, most notably the various volumes of The Confessions, along with Emile. These writings display his characteristic first-person style of candid self-examination; The Confessions, with its frank and emotionally charged narrative, helped establish the modern autobiographical tradition, while Emile uses a fictional framework to explore educational ideas and stresses following children's natural development. Rousseau's prose combines intellectual inquiry with literary power, and his influence on later autobiography, educational thought, and Romantic literature has been enduring. Public information on the specific details of his life is limited, so this note focuses on the themes and style evident in his surviving works.