J.J. Rousseau: an Afterlife of Words PDF
Preview J.J. Rousseau: an Afterlife of Words
J. J. Rousseau: An Afterlife of Words J. J. ROUSSEAU: AN AFTERLIFE OF WORDS - eli friedlander - HarvardUniversityPress Cambridge,Massachussetts London,England 2004 Copyright©2004bythePresidentand FellowsofHarvardCollege Allrightsreserved PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Friedlander,Eli. J.J.Rousseau : anafterlifeofwords / EliFriedlander. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN0-674-01514-2(alk.paper) 1.Rousseau,Jean-Jacques,1712–1778.Rêveriesdu promeneursolitaire. I.Title:J.J.Rousseau. II.Title. PQ2040.R53F75 2004 848′.509—dc22 2004047387 ToOmer,toElam,toMichal Acknowledgments My initial impulse to write on Rousseau’s Reveries of the Solitary Walkerwasoccasionedbythepreparationofalectureforaconfer- enceentitled“AcknowledgingStanleyCavell.”Thetopicofmylec- ture was in part decided by finding Rousseau’s Reveries among a listofworksCavellreferstoasspanningthedimensionsoftheout- look he calls Moral Perfectionism. That discovery only reinforced my growing sense that Cavell’s writings provided an entry into Rousseau’stextandgavemewordstoformulatemyhithertosome- what speechless attachment to the Reveries. Cavell’s investment in my interest in Rousseau goes back to his care in advising my doc- toraldissertation.Inwritingthepresentbook,someyearslater,Ire- alizedtheinnerlifeofthemanyconversationswehavehad,feeling drawntorespondtohim,tohavemywritingaddresshis.Whereas myworkonRousseau’sReveriesisnowatanend,myindebtedness to Stanley Cavell is only partially recorded in remarks throughout thetext.ForIhavenodoubtthatheispresentinthisbookevenbe- yond what I have purposely left implicit, giving me hope that fur- theroccasionsformanifestingmygratitudewillpresentthemselves. Lindsay Waters has proved to be, once again, a unique editor in his involvement, support, and intense interest in an uncommon project.AyearspentatPrincetonUniversityhasgivenmethepre- cious time and the perfect environment to complete the writing. viii (cid:127) Acknowledgments Several friends have read my manuscript, others have been inspir- ing, supportive, and loving while I was writing it. I single here, amongmanyothers,HagiKenaan,IdoGeiger,CarolynAbbate,Lee Mitchell,aswellasmyparentsHagithandSaulFriedlander. Reflections of mine often found an echo in Michal Grover- Friedlander’s thinking on the apparitions of the operatic voice on screen. Our paths met at times in inspiring conversations, other times almost coincidentally, intimating, in those ways as well, the commongroundwehavechosenforourdwellingtogether.Isome- timesimaginethatourchildrenwillpickupthisbookinthefuture and enjoy reading it, each in his way. For it is, after all, a book turned with hope to the future. It is to Michal, to Elam, and to Omer,thatIdedicateitwithlove. Contents Introduction:ExcessiveMeasures 1 1 “HereIAmThen” 9 2 FromtheNatureofExistencetotheExistence ofNature 19 3 Space,Time,Motion,andRest 30 4 ASingularTruth 42 5 TheDimensionsofaPlace 52 6 GivingWaytoInclination 61 7 LeavesofMemory 75 8 CirclesofDestiny 85 9 ExposingTheater 95 10 AfterWords 106 Notes 113 WorksCited 153 Index 157
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