Nostalgic Enlightenment: Rousseau on Memory and Moral Freedom inÉmileand “Lettres morales”

Abstract

Critics accuse Rousseau’s works of promoting a passive and dangerous nostalgia in the face of the demands of moral judgment, critical thought, and political negotiation. In Émile and its source texts, however, Rousseau presents two modern heroes who follow their nostalgic pleasure to perceive their freedom of will and present duty to act—to achieve what Kant calls “enlightenment.” In “Lettres morales,” Rousseau advises Sophie d’Houdetot to act in response to her “voluptuous” remorse for lost, adolescent enjoyment of moral virtue. In Émile, the titular character realizes his autonomy in his nostalgic regret. He must pursue the pastoral dream of independent agrarian community despite understanding the inevitable failure of the political conditions necessary for community. In both cases, Rousseau raises, for nonideal political theory, important “counternostalgic” passions that motivate moral action in compromised sociopolitical conditions.