1 - Rousseau and the Illustrious Montesquieu

Summary

A dramatic illustration of the perceived incommensurability of Montesquieu and Jean-Jacques Rousseau can be seen in the characterization of each given by Edmund Burke in the midst of the revolution. The most significant scholarly editions of Rousseau's First Discourse make no mention of the Spirit of the Laws and little mention of Montesquieu's other works. If Rousseau and Montesquieu agree about the purity of contemporary morals, the question remains as to whether they disagree about whether these morals should be examined in relation to commerce or to the sciences and arts. Because of the explicit question posed by the Academy, in Rousseau's account of the corruption of morals, the role of commerce must be less conspicuous than it is in Montesquieu's, but it is present nonetheless. In part one of the Discourse Rousseau uses the word commerce in the extended sense of communication or social interaction.