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In 1765 Jean-Jacques Rousseau accepted an invitation from the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-76) to seek refuge in England. But the visit, which lasted 16 months, was not a success. He suspe...cted plots against him, even amongst his greatest friends, including Hume himself; and he could not stand the weather. But it was in England, and particularly in the wild beauty of the Peak District, that he worked on the first half of the Confessions, a revolutionary experiment in autobiography, in which he attempted to tell his readers his most intimate secrets, in the hope of justifying not only his existence but his philosophy as well. It is a remarkable that he should have produced such a sunny work during such a bleak period of his existence; but entirely consistent with his complex philosophy of civilisation.
In 1765 Jean-Jacques Rousseau accepted an invitation from the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-76) to seek refuge in England. But the visit, which lasted 16 months, was not a success. He suspe...cted plots against him, even amongst his greatest friends, including Hume himself; and he could not stand the weather. But it was in England, and particularly in the wild beauty of the Peak District, that he worked on the first half of the Confessions, a revolutionary experiment in autobiography, in which he attempted to tell his readers his most intimate secrets, in the hope of justifying not only his existence but his philosophy as well. It is a remarkable that he should have produced such a sunny work during such a bleak period of his existence; but entirely consistent with his complex philosophy of civilisation.
| Series: | Journeys in Thought |
|---|---|
| Published: | 2004 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:44:24 |
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| Contributors: | John Hope Mason; Nicholas Philippson; Johnathan Rée; John T Scott; Jacqueline Waeber |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Subject terms: | Philosophy, European; Rousseau, Jean-Jacques,--1712-1778; Peak District (England) |
| Production number: | AUDA523A |
| Available to public: | no |
