Rousseau’s Insight

This chapter offers a distinct interpretation of Rousseau with an emphasis on the epistemic significance he attributed to political disagreement. It is this insight which connects his political philosophy with the conciliatory conception of democracy put forward in this book. The chapter elucidates the background assumptions of Rousseau’s views and his famous notion of the general will. It then goes on to explain the complex relations between the general will, citizens’ judgements, and democratic decision procedures. Finally, the chapter interprets the Rousseauian conception of sovereignty as grounded in the equal epistemic and normative authority of citizens. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.