"We are all confronted, at one time or another, with choices as to what sort of life we will lead." So Tzvetan Todorov begins Frail Happiness, an important interpretation of Rousseau, one suffused with Todorov's own moral seriousness and intellectual depth. While ranging widely through Rousseau's corpus with skill and scholarly authority Todorov returns, again and again, to the fragile yet persistant hope for human happiness.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"This translation... is doubly welcome.... [It] offers readers both an insightful interpretation of Rousseau, one that presents him explicitly as a moral theorist, and an introduction to Todorov's own contributions to what he calls a 'critical humanism.' " -Zev M. Trachtenberg, Ethics; "Todorov accomplishes remarkably much in this brief book, and he does so with a clarity and grace that reflect his humanism and his intention to confront life honestly, characteristics he particularly admires in Rousseau." -Laurence D. Cooper, The Review of Politics; "In Frail Happiness, Todorov argues for the coherence of Rousseau, against those who prefer to underscore his contradictions. In its very simplicity it is an elegant presentation, one that will doubtless attract many readers." --Philip Stewart, Duke University
About the Author
Tzvetan Todorov is a director of research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris. A linguist, literary theorist, and world-renowned essayist, he is the author of numerous books, several of which have been translated into English, including: Voices from the Gulag: Life and Death in Communist Bulgaria (Penn State, 1999). John T. Scott is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California at Davis.
Robert D. Zaretsky is Associate Professor of French at the University of Houston, where he holds a joint appointment in the Honors College and the Department of Modern and Classical Languages.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
In order to understand the different solutions to the problem of the human condition as Rousseau explores them, and to situate them in relation to one another, we must first recall the broad outlines and general structure of his doctrine. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
frail happiness, moral individual, solitary individual Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Second Dialogue, Second Discourse, Third Dialogue, Fifth Walk, Fragments of the Confessions, Political Economy, Political Fragments, Eighth Walk, First Discourse, First Walk, Government of Poland, The New Heloise, Seventh Walk New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
In order to understand the different solutions to the problem of the human condition as Rousseau explores them, and to situate them in relation to one another, we must first recall the broad outlines and general structure of his doctrine. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
frail happiness, moral individual, solitary individual Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Second Dialogue, Second Discourse, Third Dialogue, Fifth Walk, Fragments of the Confessions, Political Economy, Political Fragments, Eighth Walk, First Discourse, First Walk, Government of Poland, The New Heloise, Seventh Walk New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 25
books:
See all 25 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- The Social Contract (Penguin Classics) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau on 12 pages
- Social Contract: Essays by Locke, Hume, and Rousseau by John Locke on 12 pages
- Frail Happiness: An Essay on Rousseau by Tzvetan Todorov on 7 pages
- Discourse on the Origin of Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau on 5 pages
- The Government of Poland by Jean-Jacques Rousseau on 5 pages
See all 25 books this book cites
- Rousseau's Dog: Two Great Thinkers at War in the Age of Enlightenment by David Edmonds in Back Matter
- Perfection and Disharmony in the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau by Jonathan Marks in Back Matter
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
