Pascal's Pensées, and Rousseau's On the Social Contract (Books 2 and 3)

“Man was born free, but everywhere he is in chains. This man believes that he is the master of others, and still he is more of a slave than they are. How did that transformation take place? I don't know. How may the restraints on man become legitimate? I do believe I can answer that question…”

At this meeting we will spend the first hour looking at a couple of the Pensées of Pascal, and then we'll continue discussing On the Social Contract, which is the culmination of Rousseau's work in the realm of political philosophy. We'll be discussing Book 2 and 3, and we'll continue our discussion of the distinction between the "will of all" and "the general will".

Please read to the end of Book 3 of On the Social Contract before the meeting.

Rousseau wrote on a wide variety of subjects, but the group will first delve into his political theory. And, while the group will concentrate on Rousseau, we may also take a look at other writers of the French Enlightenment; i.e. Montesquieu, Diderot, and, although he was a bit earlier, Montaigne.

This is the translation of the Rousseau we will be using in the meetings: https://annas-archive.org/md5/9c70d9441bf70f896c87a1ccd668c0bd