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The study aims to explore the specific features of the modern reception of J.-J. Rousseau’s “Confessions”. The theoretical framework of the research is grounded on the ideas advanced by T. Avtuxovych, M.Czermińska, M.Głowiński, W.Iser, R. Jakobson, H.R.Jauss, P.Lejeune, Yu. Lotman, V.Tjupa, Zh. Starobinskiy and other scholars. The researchers describe the semiotic model of literary communication and the theory of the text by Yuri Lotman. The research was conducted using historic-functional, hermeneutic, receptive, and theoretical analysis methods. An attempt is made in this paper to show how the process of “decoding” the meanings intended by the author in the text takes place. In particular, the authors study how Rousseau’s “Confessions” functions in the structure of modern literary communication. The specific objectives of the present study are the meanings of “Confessions” are read by the contemporary recipient and which ones are relegated to the background compared to the literary communication of the eighteenth century. The common discourse code of the author and the reader is the key to successful communication and understanding of the specifics of the project of Rousseau’s life writing. At the same time, the success and specificity of artistic communication are influenced by the difference in discourse code meanings related to the time distance between the author and the recipient and the layering of new historical and cultural patterns in the reader’s consciousness. At the thematic level, three main themes are considered, including: a) the social origin of the autobiographical subject, b) his conflict with society, and c) the protagonist’s intimate self-disclosure. Thus, the article provides a detailed examination of the motif of the social origin of the autobiographical character. On the topic of the social origin of the character, instead of the plebeian’s right to public attention for the contemporary reader, the value of education and knowledge, freedom of speech and individual liberty are being actualised. Of particular note is the theme of the conflict between a character and society, the idea of the human right to otherness, the right to personal liberty and the right to choose the concept of one’s own life comes to the forefront. Thus, a literary text realises the social function of literature. The reading of the character’s self-disclosure by an attentive reader (from Rousseau’s contemporary to modern readers) has a twofold purpose: first, to encourage everyone to live the experience of the character and thus to think about themselves, and second, to reflect on society as a whole. It testifies to the fact that in the aspect of self-disclosure of the meaning of “Confessions”, the transformation of confession as an external form of a religious rite of repentance addressed to God into the narrative genre of confessional autobiography addressed to a human reader of the story is actualized. The study demonstrated a need for continuation of the study in the aspect of reader reception to contribute to the perception of its place in the contemporary literary and cultural space.

There has been an exponential growth of the internet both on social media and as a communication device and information source, accompanied by the promotion of online platforms. The digital media has promoted the concept of trolling by activating electronic platforms, which has led to problems of cyber-bullying, hacking and phishing. Anonymous social media, which has its origins in covert intelligence, has allowed the state to accumulate information through surveillance and the mining of data. At the community level it has caused social networking that has increased the temptation to forge a 'pack' mentality that increases the prospect of conspiracies against individuals in society who can have their reputations destroyed in a clandestine manner. It raises the issue of whether industry by its heavy reliance on smart technology is beneficial for humanity and if progress can be measured through algorithm-based crowd control that allows safe harbours by creating online platforms for sourcing information that invade the right to privacy and prohibition against freedom from torture. This paper examines J.-J. Rousseau's theory of men being content in their original state and that the uncontrolled scientific progress will lead humans to becoming a slave to 'policy' devised by the state or those whose materialist impulses are driven without any moral or natural law considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to explore the specific features of the modern reception of J.-J. Rousseau’s “Confessions”. The theoretical framework of the research is grounded on the ideas advanced by T. Avtuxovych, M.Czermińska, M.Głowiński, W.Iser, R. Jakobson, H.R.Jauss, P.Lejeune, Yu. Lotman, V.Tjupa, Zh. Starobinskiy and other scholars. The researchers describe the semiotic model of literary communication and the theory of the text by Yuri Lotman. The research was conducted using historic-functional, hermeneutic, receptive, and theoretical analysis methods. An attempt is made in this paper to show how the process of “decoding” the meanings intended by the author in the text takes place. In particular, the authors study how Rousseau’s “Confessions” functions in the structure of modern literary communication. The specific objectives of the present study are the meanings of “Confessions” are read by the contemporary recipient and which ones are relegated to the background compared to the literary communication of the eighteenth century. The common discourse code of the author and the reader is the key to successful communication and understanding of the specifics of the project of Rousseau’s life writing. At the same time, the success and specificity of artistic communication are influenced by the difference in discourse code meanings related to the time distance between the author and the recipient and the layering of new historical and cultural patterns in the reader’s consciousness. At the thematic level, three main themes are considered, including: a) the social origin of the autobiographical subject, b) his conflict with society, and c) the protagonist’s intimate self-disclosure. Thus, the article provides a detailed examination of the motif of the social origin of the autobiographical character. On the topic of the social origin of the character, instead of the plebeian’s right to public attention for the contemporary reader, the value of education and knowledge, freedom of speech and individual liberty are being actualised. Of particular note is the theme of the conflict between a character and society, the idea of the human right to otherness, the right to personal liberty and the right to choose the concept of one’s own life comes to the forefront. Thus, a literary text realises the social function of literature. The reading of the character’s self-disclosure by an attentive reader (from Rousseau’s contemporary to modern readers) has a twofold purpose: first, to encourage everyone to live the experience of the character and thus to think about themselves, and second, to reflect on society as a whole. It testifies to the fact that in the aspect of self-disclosure of the meaning of “Confessions”, the transformation of confession as an external form of a religious rite of repentance addressed to God into the narrative genre of confessional autobiography addressed to a human reader of the story is actualized. The study demonstrated a need for continuation of the study in the aspect of reader reception to contribute to the perception of its place in the contemporary literary and cultural space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the relation between public opinion and public discussion (déliberation) in Rousseau’s work. Some contemporary theorists regard Rousseau as a thinker who rejects the necessity of public debate in political decision-making and deplore the lack of discussion in the process by which the general will is formed. To clarify Rousseau’s position regarding this problem the article explores two paths. First, it analyses the concepts of “general” and “particular” as they relate to interest and will, and the terms used by Rousseau to express the political process: délibération, opiner, voter. The second part reveals how Rousseau understands (public) opinion as an expression of our self-love and why he condemns the creation of particular societies within a political body. In conclusion, we show in what sense déliberation is for Rousseau a necessary condition for the democratic process.

Influence is an important notion in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's thinking. However, the event of influence is related to contamination, corruption, and alteration in Rousseau's philosophical system. At the very beginning, the first Discourse (1750) presents the critique of culture and social taste. The author points out the damaging influence of 'public opinion', 'riches', and 'powerful actors' on the morals of a society. These entities corrupt the social morals and set a depraved example to follow. On the other hand, there is a clean and progressive way of influence between individuals without moral abuse. This is the case of the Genius, who comes to the world exclusively under influence of another Genius. There is no Genius - whatever this notion is supposed to mean - in itself. His birth is the result of a strong influence: it came to the world in a 'ravishing transport' as the entry "Genius" describes its genesis in A Complete Dictionary of Music. Purely positive influence is a 'stimulus' as Rousseau names it in Dialogues. My paper describes what the 'stimulus' means and how the uncorrupted 'inhabitants of the other sphere' are disposed by this stimulus. The example of the Genius demonstrates more eloquently the process of the positive influence, which is also a possibility to a sourceless beginning. To illustrate this idea and make it more concrete I will reference Julie's paradise in Rousseau's masterwork, Julie, or the New Heloise. In Julie's garden, called Elysée, we have the topology of a perfect wilderness, a landscape at first sight uncontaminated by human artefact. The structure of the vegetation testifies of a beginning without beginning. The décor looks like a setup with no human intervention. This idea of creation is close to the idea of insemination, and more precisely to the 'dissemination' key word of Derrida's work, Dissemination. My article is a lecture regarding the entry "Genius" in A Complete Dictionary of Music and a thought-experiment about how this entry can be interpreted in a deconstructive context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consistently reconstructing the philosophy of freedom of T. Hobbes and J.-J. Rousseau, the author relies, first of all, on the opinion of Y. Habermas, who justifiably believes that without Hobbes and Rousseau, the integral image of the European philosophical discourse of prudent freedom will not be completed. Secondly is the important fact that the images of freedom and justice, initiated in the political philosophy of Hobbes and Rousseau, found their continuation in the work of such famous philosophers as Y. Habermas, A. Honneth, O. Höffe, Ch. Taylor. Thirdly, revealing the essence of Hobbes's interpretation of "negative freedom", the author seeks to avoid its simplified, "caricatured" (if to use Ch. Taylor's expression) vision and to emphasize the relevance of this concept and its characteristic "grim portrait of human nature" for our tragic present. The significance of Hobbes's ideas about man and his freedom for Rousseau's philosophy is proved, and the thesis is developed that it was Hobbes who sought to comprehensively understand the relationship between the state and citizen, sovereign and subject, rooted in the dependence of freedom on security, and to supplement his vision of "negative freedom" with an understanding of it and as freedom of conscience, as "human and citizen rights" to be recognized by the state. In addition, the idea (further developed in Rousseau's writings) of the relationship between the interpretation of freedom and human nature was born in Hobbes's thoughts. The essence of the concept of consent, which is important for Rousseau, thanks to which we voluntarily become a part of the community, is also revealed: the "complete and solitary" individual, giving up his sovereignty in favor of the whole, becomes a part of it, remaining free. The article concludes that the debate about the fate of "negative freedom" started by Hobbes and Rousseau has not yet found its final solution, despite the attempts of such classics of modern philosophy as Ch. Taylor. His desire to demonstrate the errors, "disadvantages" of "negative freedom" theorized by T. Hobbes did not turn him into a supporter of "positive" freedom due to the hidden danger of totalitarian violence. And Taylor's reflections on the gradation of obstacles on the way to freedom do not acquire the depth of Hobbes's ideas, due to the tragic social contexts of his life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the relation between public opinion and public discussion (déliberation) in Rousseau’s work. Some contemporary theorists regard Rousseau as a thinker who rejects the necessity of public debate in political decision-making and deplore the lack of discussion in the process by which the general will is formed. To clarify Rousseau’s position regarding this problem the article explores two paths. First, it analyses the concepts of “general” and “particular” as they relate to interest and will, and the terms used by Rousseau to express the political process: délibération, opiner, voter. The second part reveals how Rousseau understands (public) opinion as an expression of our self-love and why he condemns the creation of particular societies within a political body. In conclusion, we show in what sense déliberation is for Rousseau a necessary condition for the democratic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the work of the Russian revolutionary, writer and Marxist theorist V. I. Zasulich. The subject of consideration is the historical and philosophical views of the thinker, which are analyzed on the basis of her study devoted to the work of J.-J. Rousseau – “Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The experience of characteristics of his social ideas”, which previously remained almost without the attention of researchers. The purpose of the work is to analyze the basic principles of the approach of V. I. Zasulich to the study of philosophical thought: the desire to recreate the historical situation and the mental situation, the focus on the selection of socio-political and ideological determinants of the views of a particular thinker, the selection of unique and innovative thoughts compared to contemporaries and predecessors, the influence of the thinker on contemporaries and descendants. The research methodology is the system analysis, and reconstruction of the works by V. I. Zasulich on the problems of research. The work of V. I. Zasulich is a full-fledged scientific research: it analyzes the works of the thinker, refers to other researchers of his work. It identifies the determinants of the direction of his works, the thinker’s innovation and contribution to philosophy, as well as his influence on the further development of spiritual life, that is, adheres to the Marxist methodology of historical and philosophical research (and largely forms this methodology for Russian scientists).

В статье представлена интерпрета- ция повести Карамзина как текста, полемизирующего с антропологией Руссо. Интеллектуальный диалог с идеями Руссо был представлен и в других русских литературных текстах времени, представляющих общую тенденцию русской мысли к формированию собственного пред- ставления о человеке. В этом контек- сте повесть «Моя исповедь» может быть понята как текст, связанный с развитием русской мысли эпохи, с созданием философских параме- тров дискурса идентичности.

Il saggio prende spunto da un ricordo d’infanzia annotato nello Zibaldoneil 26 marzo 1820, che Leopardi rubrica sotto la voce “Servitori”. A partire da questo appunto, il contributo indaga la presenza del motivo della servitù, e del rapporto servo-padrone, nel diario leopardiano e nei ricordi autobiografici raccolti nella Vita abbozzata di Silvio Sarno, intrecciandolo dapprima con le considerazioni rousseauiane sul tema (Émile e Confessions) e poi con il concetto arendtiano di ‘vita activa’. Attraverso l’analisi di temi (la schiavitù, il pubblico e il privato, il consumo alimentare, l’egoismo) e di figure emblematiche (il domestico, il tiranno, il monofago, il viaggiatore solitario), il saggio mostra le implicazioni autobiografiche, storiche (l’«umanità degli antichi») e filosofiche dell’interesse leopardiano per il motivo della servitù: la desolata presa d’atto che la società moderna condivide con la natura un inevitabile egoismo, nella misura in cui il bisogno del singolo prevale su valori durevoli e pubblici come la gloria e l’onore. The essay starts from a childhood memory recorded in Zibaldone the 26th of May 1820, indexed under the heading “Servants.” It explores the theme of “servitude” (servitù, or schiavitù, “slavery”), and the relationship master/slave in the Zibaldone and in the autobiographical memories known as Vita abbozzata di Silvio Sarno, relating them with Rousseau’s Émile and Confessions, and with Arendt’s concept of “vita activa.” Through the analysis of themes such as slavery, egoism, consumption, public/private, and of paradigmatic figures such as the servant, the tyrant, the solitary traveller and especially the “monophagous”, by which term Leopardi understands somebody who doesn’t like to eat in company, the essay shows the autobiographical, historical and philosophical implications of Leopardi’s interest in the issue of servitude, and in particular his disillusioned acknowledgement that modern society shares with nature egoism and selfishness, since individual commodities tend to prevail over values such as glory and honour.

The ideological romanticism of freedom and equality, having its origins in the political philosophy of Zh. J. Russo, does not lose its relevance today. The revolutionary ideas of J.J.Russault, which laid the foundations for a radical democratic paradigm, inspire new reformist and revolutionary movements around the world. The practical implementation of these ideas often leads to a radicalization of the order of political transformation, substantially reducing the line between democracy and dictatorship. This has been repeatedly observed in political history, beginning with the French Revolution and ending with a modern wave of revolutions in different countries, where radical democrats, destroying and capturing power, proclaim freedom in the name of new equality. By neglecting the real limits of historical action, redefining the role and significance of revolutionary violence, the radicals launch a process that can lead to serious danger for society and the state. Indeed, in reality, equality means only a break with the former public asymmetry, which is replaced by new values – privileged access to a new system of hierarchies. In this case, the national fabric is torn apart, all the public cells collapse, the will to establish freedom, leads to terror, destroying this same freedom, and the revolution turns into a counter to what served as its beginning. As soon as it seems to the people that he (the one who «made» this revolution) receives all the full power, this power, well-founded in numerous theories and concepts, in reality slips out of his hands and becomes elusive. The ideas that prevailed in the pre-revolutionary period and played a positive role in the process of preparing revolutionary events are highlighted as completely incapacitated.

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RESUMO É certamente hegemônica na recepção do pensamento político rousseauniano, de seus primeiros momentos à exegese contemporânea, a tese segundo a qual o contrato social seria incompatível com a negação do direito natural. A convicção comum a esses intérpretes, herdada da tradição jusnaturalista moderna, é a de que, na ausência de uma obrigação moral prévia - a lei natural - e, portanto, de uma sanção que confira força vinculante à promessa daqueles que se engajam no ato de contratar, o pacto fundamental não passaria de um formulário vão, cujos termos seus celebrantes dificilmente cumpririam. As teorias contratualistas da origem do corpo político encontrar-se-iam, assim, necessariamente atreladas ao jusnaturalismo. Na contramão desse viés de leitura, pretendemos neste artigo desenvolver e sustentar a hipótese de que o contrato social concebido por Jean-Jacques Rousseau, distinto da forma contratual clássica em aspectos cruciais, dispensa a sanção da lei de natureza. Será o caso, para tanto, de esmiuçar a estrutura sui generis do pacto rousseauniano, revelando, finalmente, de onde emana seu poder coercitivo.

This article analyses the topic of literary enunciation in some of Rousseau's writings, particularly Lettre à D'Alembert (1758), Du contrat social (1762), Essai sur l'origine des langues (1781), as well as the preface of La nouvelle Héloïse (1761). In these texts, it will be taken into account the way that literature is intimately related to the problem of the voice and the ordering of utterances and bodies of the author's political thinking, setting a politics/police of literature, according to the distinction formulated by Jacques Rancière (1996). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rousseau's political philosophy suggests that there is an intimate connection between the guarantee of freedom (as non-domination, as defined in the republican tradition) and a radically democratic constitution, especially as regards the process of collective decision-making. This text seeks to explore some aspects of this link between egalitarianism and freedom as non-domination, from the perspective of the theory of democracy proposed by Rousseau in his Social Contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Revista Philósophos is the property of Revista Philosophos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Sem a ambição de expor todas as aproximações e contradições entre o Discurso sobre a origem e os fundamentos da desigualdade entre os homens, de Jean Jacques Rousseau, e o Livro da Gênesis Bíblica, o presente texto tem por finalidade realizar um estudo comparativo entre essas duas obras, visando propor uma reflexão em torno do mito do jardim do Éden, assim como se encontra exposta tal história na Bíblia, em contraponto com a obra do iluminista Jean-Jacques, ressaltando os elementos de identificação, a proposição do sujeito autônomo sem valer-se do princípio de autoridade além dos limites da racionalidade. Se Rousseau foi leitor assíduo da Bíblia, isso não significa a exigência de uma discussão sobre a fundamentação dogmática e transcendental quando se discute a tentativa de definição das origens do ser humano. Tal proposta desperta teses e argumentos em torno das afinidades e distanciamentos entre o estado de natureza e as origens bíblicas. Assim, pretende-se responder se Rousseau efetivamente propõe um ponto de vista racional/naturalista dos sentimentos cristãos, servindo-se do tema para estabelecer suas duras críticas à religião e suas práticas.

Directly after the premiere of Glucks Orfeo ed Euridice in Vienna 1762, voices critical of the aria "Che farò senza Euridice" became audible. The aria would be too cheerful and would not be adequate to the dramatic situation of the second and final death of Orpheus' wife. Analyses of the italian and the french versions (Paris 1774) will be presented, which characterize that aria as a musical masterpiece. Furthermore, documents of its reception in the 18th and 19th century (Rousseau, Rellstab, Heinse, Krause, Hanslick) and their formulated pros and cons will be commented. Finally there will be a reference to a citation of the aria by Haydn and to a parody by Offenbach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Sade criticism, relations between Sade and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are a polarizing subject. The two authors are either considered to be sharply opposed to, or essentially compatible with, each other. This article argues that the analysis of their relationship, instead of being based on explicit references to Rousseau or his texts, should take into consideration the specificities of Sadean intertextuality. While being outrageously original, Sade still belongs to a rhetorical culture that recycles texts and discourses. His creative processes include imitation, copying, plagiarizing, and the recombining of elements from other texts, including Rousseau's. The Sadean intertext highlights dystopic aspects of Rousseau's ideas and imagery. While underscoring the importance of the modernity of Rousseau's ideas at successive stages of the French Revolution, this article pays special attention to the Sadean use and recasting of Rousseau's criticism of the theatre, of his two Discours, and of Du Contrat social. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]