Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) was a leading Genevan philosopher and political theorist and one of the key figures of the Enlightenment. John T. Scott is professor of political science at the University of California, Davis. He has edited or translated several volumes on Rousseau and is coauthor of The Philosophers' Quarrel: Rousseau, Hume, and the Limits of Human Understanding.
John T. Scott's fresh new rendition of Rousseau's major political writings is a boon for scholars and students alike, balancing the literalness necessary for the rigorous study of Rousseau with crisp readability. As if this weren't enough, Scott's introduction and explanatory notes provide a succinct contextual discussion of Rousseau's place in modern intellectual history. This edition will be the new standard Rousseau text for introductory and advanced courses in modern political philosophy.--Richard Boyd, Georgetown University