Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Reviews
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality by Franklin Philip, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Patrick Coleman
ineedtokeepmymouthshut's review against another edition
5.0
Rousseau was actually a pleasure to read, he has a way with words. It is unfortunate he was such a huge sexist
sunsoar25's review against another edition
3.0
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a classic I'm glad I tackled. It's certainly interesting and brings up topics that are still relevant in the present. That said, though, I feel like I should have been back in college to fully appreciate this one.
jon_mckenney's review against another edition
5.0
A lot of malarky at times, but a wonderful text (literary). Fruitful discussions.
gardalf's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating exploration of how private property may be a foundational crux for the development of inequality. Whilst certainly of its era, it demonstrates well the range of thought typical of Rousseau and also works as an informative precursor for anyone who would read his Social Contract.
adamsaid's review against another edition
2.0
Two stars not due to the writing quality, but because I think Rousseau is a bit of a goober.
lj_crook's review against another edition
3.0
Despite its age, this slim volume is clear and intelligible to the modern reader. Rousseau makes the argument (not unlike that of Yuval Harari in Sapiens!) that mankind was better off before civilization began with the advent of agriculture. However, his personal biases lead him to a certainty that humans are instinctively solitary and would have rarely crossed paths with others in the state of nature, despite his own use of highly sociable primates as examples to prove his other suppositions. The essay, therefore, provides some interesting insight into the mind of the 18th century philosopher, but didn't draw me in with a sense of timeless truth.
This edition contains a detailed foreword about Rousseau's life, and also starts off with a bizarre and sycophantic preface dedicated to the city-state of Geneva. The notes were good but unfortunately, due to the (rightful) inclusion of Rousseau's own fascinating notes, I had to keep four pages open at any one time: essay page, Rousseau's notes for that page, editor's notes for the essay page, and editor's notes for Rousseau's notes! Footnotes on the page would have been preferable.
This edition contains a detailed foreword about Rousseau's life, and also starts off with a bizarre and sycophantic preface dedicated to the city-state of Geneva. The notes were good but unfortunately, due to the (rightful) inclusion of Rousseau's own fascinating notes, I had to keep four pages open at any one time: essay page, Rousseau's notes for that page, editor's notes for the essay page, and editor's notes for Rousseau's notes! Footnotes on the page would have been preferable.