A arte da representação cívica no Emílio de Rousseau

Abstract

Representation is a common operative concept in the Eighteenth Century. Despite the common use, in Rousseau the term has a more critical meaning. According to Rousseau, the act of representation occurs in all areas of knowledge, in different scales. His analysis is developed in such a way that we can take a theory of civic representation whose problem is set as follows: as man acquires culture, enters the world of representation. Thus, two projects are envisioned in Rousseau’s thought: the collective, in a sociopolitical proposal, which advocates changing the form of association through a social contract; and the individual, whose perspective is the re-creation of the natural man through education, well prepared to face the harsh reality of social world, without necessarily let itself be misled by it, deceived or depraved – as it appears in the Emile. Educated as a natural man, Emile must though live amongst his peers, playing virtuously his role as a civil man, always seeking his benefit and of the others.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21747/21836892/fil33a13