Rousseau's Dog: Two Great Thinkers At War in the Age of Enlightenment
By David Edmonds and John Eidinow
3/5
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About this ebook
In 1766 philosopher, novelist, composer, and political provocateur Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a fugitive, decried by his enemies as a dangerous madman. Meanwhile David Hume—now recognized as the foremost philosopher in the English language—was being universally lauded as a paragon of decency. And so Rousseau came to England with his beloved dog, Sultan, and willingly took refuge with his more respected counterpart. But within months, the exile was loudly accusing his benefactor of plotting to dishonor him—which prompted a most uncharacteristically violent response from Hume. And so began a remarkable war of words and actions that ensnared many of the leading figures in British and French society, and became the talk of intellectual Europe.
Rousseau's Dog is the fascinating true story of the bitter and very public quarrel that turned the Age of Enlightenment's two most influential thinkers into deadliest of foes—a most human tale of compassion, treachery, anger, and revenge; of celebrity and its price; of shameless spin; of destroyed reputations and shattered friendships.
Editor's Note
A great rivalry…
This fascinating true story of the bitter quarrel between the Age of Enlightenment’s most famous philosophers is both an absorbing cultural record and an entertaining look at rivalry.
David Edmonds
David Edmonds is an award-winning journalists with the BBC. He's the bestselling authors of Bobby Fischer Goes to War and Wittgenstein’s Poker.
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Reviews for Rousseau's Dog
49 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book is more history than biography, being an exploration of the fight between Jean-Jacques Rousseau and David Hume, the latter being the benefactor of the former until they had their falling out. Hume helped Rousseau escape to London when he was in danger of being arrested for his subversive writings; Rousseau became paranoid and suspected Hume of plotting against him. The book flows easily, and the authors have done a great deal of research in primary sources, but somehow something feels a bit off. The authors attempt to psychoanalyze both Hume and Rousseau, and perhaps that's the problem, because it's difficult to do that from such a distance. Also, the sources are not truly reliable, since they do not agree on certain key things, and the authors usually report both sources, but you suspect they have a preference for which one is correct. In the end, they salvage the text by bringing it around in the final wrap-up to demonstrate that they have, in fact, caught the big picture that they appeared to be missing, but only with a few swipes at the Enlightenment on the way. Overall, a decent read, but sometimes it's better not to know too much about people. I won't be able to read Rousseau the same way again; Hume is only slightly smirched, but Rousseau comes off looking like a buffoon, which I don't think was the intent of the authors.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5If you are looking to tuck into a meaty exploration of the philosophy of the Enlightenment, you will leave this table unsated. This reads more like a gossip column than a serious exploration of thought. The book has its interesting tidbits interspersed through an overabundance of detail. You will get a better insight into the men behind their respective philosophies, and for this reason the book is worth reading for those interested in Enlightenment thinkers.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a lot of fun>the rather bitchy battle between Voltaire and Rousseau is glossed over quite entertaingly, perhpas a little more depth was needed.Part of the famous person and silly animal conncetion series that seems to be seen in bookshops today