On the Happiness of the Philosophic Life: Reflections on Rousseau's "Rêveries" in Two Books

by Heinrich Meier, Robert Berman (Translation)

On the Happiness of the Philosophic Life presents Heinrich Meier’s confrontation with Rousseau’s Rêveries, the philosopher’s most beautiful and daring work, as well as his last and least understood. Bringing to bear more than thirty years of study of Rousseau, Meier unfolds his stunningly original interpretation in two parts.

The first part of On the Happiness of the Philosophic Life approaches the Rêveries not as another autobiographical text in the tradition of the Confessions and the Dialogues, but as a reflection on the philosophic life and the distinctive happiness it provides. The second turns to a detailed analysis of a work referred to in the Rêveries, the “Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,” which triggered Rousseau’s political persecution when it was originally published as part of Émile. In his examination of this most controversial of Rousseau’s writings, which aims to lay the foundations for a successful nonphilosophic life, Meier brings to light the differences between natural religion as expressed by the Vicar and Rousseau’s natural theology. Together, the two reciprocally illuminating parts of this study provide an indispensable guide to Rousseau and to the understanding of the nature of the philosophic life

Genres: Philosophy

400 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 2011

About the author

Heinrich Meier is professor of philosophy at the universities of Munich and Chicago and heads the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could never second guess the work of Heinrich Meier, but as with reading Strauss and many other political philosophers, one must have faith and just go with the secondary text before him, and then contemplate it. No doubt there is an esoteric element to Rousseau's "Reveries", but I earnestly think that that element is esoteric due to the fact that the cognitive functioning exhibited by Rousseau is so beyond the realm of the masses, just as dunking a basketball from the free-throw line or running a 4.4 40 yard dash is beyond the realm of the possible for the masses. Either way, it is always a highly appreciated endeavor to read the thought of a man like Meyer, not mattering if I agree the argument or not.