5.2. The Targets
In this chapter, we will begin by focusing on the first philosophical works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the thinkers whose posterity was the most important. Rousseau was a thinker who profoundly changed political reflection. His first two Discours, although they were forced exercises, formulated in a masterly manner an intuition that he developed and deepened over the course of his career.
Then we will focus on the opponents of philosophers, who sometimes violently and fiercely opposed those they suspected of encouraging impiety and immorality.
And finally, we will read one of the most important philosophical texts of the Enlightenment, which is also one of the foundations of modern political thinking: De l’esprit des lois, by Montesquieu.
🎞️ Against absolutism: Rousseau’s discourses
📥 Transcript of the video in English (PDF)
🎞️ Against religion: d’Holbach, the System of nature
📥 Transcript of the video in English (PDF)