The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding [Hardcover]

Robert Zaretsky (Author), John T. Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

The rise and spectacular fall of the friendship between the two great philosophers of the eighteenth century, barely six months after they first met, reverberated on both sides of the Channel. As the relationship between Jean-Jacques Rousseau and David Hume unraveled, a volley of rancorous letters was fired off, then quickly published and devoured by aristocrats, intellectuals, and common readers alike. Everyone took sides in this momentous dispute between the greatest of Enlightenment thinkers.

In this lively and revealing book, Robert Zaretsky and John T. Scott explore the unfolding rift between Rousseau and Hume. The authors are particularly fascinated by the connection between the thinkers’ lives and thought, especially the way that the failure of each to understand the other—and himself—illuminates the limits of human understanding. In addition, they situate the philosophers’ quarrel in the social, political, and intellectual milieu that informed their actions, as well as the actions of the other participants in the dispute, such as James Boswell, Adam Smith, and Voltaire. By examining the conflict through the prism of each philosopher’s contribution to Western thought, Zaretsky and Scott reveal the implications for the two men as individuals and philosophers as well as for the contemporary world.

(20090301)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Imagine a world where philosophers are celebrities, their works are greeted with stone throwing and literary correspondences are the stuff of tabloid-style publication. This was the world of 18th-century Europe, where David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau's friendship, which lasted but six months, created a public stir and has a remarkable enough trajectory to be the centerpiece of this study of Enlightenment mores. Further, the dispute highlights a key divergence in the study of human understanding: Rousseau represented an alternative way of knowing that went, in a certain sense, beyond reason to regions reached only through the imagination and the passions. This mode of thinking sets the stage for Rousseau's dramatic misunderstanding of Hume's intentions and actions, and ushers in Rousseau's revolutionary demotion of adherence to external or objective truth, replacing it with loyalty to one's own self. Zaretsky and Scott (coauthors of Frail Happiness: An Essay on Rousseau) weave vivid storytelling together with elegant arguments about this transitional period from the Enlightenment to the Romantic period. The book is also a revealing intellectual history of Rousseau's compelling madness and mystifying genius. Illus. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

In a remarkable salvage operation, Zaretsky and Scott rescue from the wreckage of a famous friendship the remains of two contrasting Enlightenment perspectives. Improbable from the start, the friendship of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and David Hume united a Frenchman of passionate sentiment and a Scot of tough-minded skepticism. Even in these unlikely friends’ early ardor, the authors discern incipient tensions that rapidly harden into a bitter antagonism involving partisans on both sides of the Channel. The result of more than conflicting personalities, the Rousseau-Hume breakup involves different critiques of the vaunted rationality governing the Age of Reason. Making sincerity of personal feeling his mainstay, Rousseau leveled histrionic accusations against Hume so vehemently that his erstwhile friend feared for his sanity. Relying for his part on communal solidarity, Hume deflected Rousseau’s indictments by strengthening his network of social ties. Though the authors favor Hume in this notorious dispute, they highlight lapses in both men’s reasoning and actions. An engaging narrative showing how divergent philosophical principles play out in real life.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300121938
• ISBN-13: 978-0300121933
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating glimpse into the Enlightenment, June 17, 2011

By 

Massimo Pigliucci (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding (Kindle Edition)

If you are interested in the Age of Reason, or in the personalities and intellectual disagreements of some of the greatest minds of all time, this is one book you will want to read. The Philosophers' Quarrel gives us a close up and personal look at the dispute - both personal and philosophical - between former friends turned enemies David Hume and Jean-Jaques Rousseau. These are two of the towering figures of the Enlightenment, and some of the minor characters in the book are also very well known exponents of that age-defining movement: from Voltaire to Diderot, to the various women who famously hosted the salons that shaped the culture of the time. I must admit to a profound dislike for Rousseau and his ideas, and a comparable love of Hume, and this book - while in fact maintaining a fairly neutral tone - has validated my original impressions. Both thinkers were critical of the extreme program of the Enlightenment, recognizing the limits of reason and the necessity for a balance with the emotional side of being human. But Hume strived to reach a, well, reasonable medium, while Rousseau was out to destroy pretty much everything that makes for good philosophy, in the process also demonstrating a degree of misanthropy and ingratitude to his friends (including Hume) that is simply astounding. The actions of the two protagonists, set against the intellectually magnificent backdrop of Paris and London, make for fascinating reading. And the chapter on "How philosophers die" is simply very moving - again, though, thanks pretty much only to Hume.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a page turner, July 26, 2009

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David Toner "DAVID TONER" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding (Hardcover)

This was definitely a page turner and a wonderful compendium of many things philosophical and cultural of this era in Europe. The quarrel between these lionized philosophers had much of the public's attention, not to mention the attention of heads of state and fellow philosophers. This is something that may be a little hard to imagine in our day and time, a philosopher's quarrel! Who might our contemporary philosophers be, and what would be the quarrel that would have such consequences.

There is much to learn and be reminded of here, and a very enjoyable read along the way.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warts and all, June 21, 2010

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Niklas Anderberg (the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding (Paperback)

A bit disappointing, this one. In describing the falling-out between Hume and Rousseau, the emphasis is not so much on the limits of human understanding, as its subtitle promises, but more on personal differences. The reader gets a good idea of the amiable Hume trying his best to support the hypersensitive Rousseau, or Old Ross Hall as the locals in northern England used to call him. There are some nice scenes depicting Rousseau in his Armenian coat walking his beloved dog Sultan and a hilarious account of him visiting the theatre attended by King George lll and an unruly audience, all anxious to get a glimpse of the famous philosopher.

We also get a taste of the acuity and pettiness of "the skeletal genius" Voltaire, who from the sidelines follows and comments on the developments. In a painting by Jean Huber, he is seen getting out of bed while dictating a letter to his secretary, no doubt blackening the reputation of his arch-enemy Rousseau. Sometimes the stories in The Philosophers' Quarrel amount to little more than gossip. The famous visit of James Boswell at Hume's deathbed is included, where one wonders about the relevance of how many times Boswell had caught a venereal disease. In an earlier instance, we're also informed he couldn't properly "perform".

All in all, a pleasant read. The philosophers are rendered lifelike, warts and all, but with more of a weekly magazine feel to it than one would perhaps have expected from the two stern-looking professors gazing at you on the back flap.