International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.2, 2023

The Hidden Time in Rousseau’s Historical Narration

(Abstract)

Zha Shaochen

Rousseau’s two papers (“Discourse on the Arts and Sciences” and “Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality among Men”), Emile, and The Social Contract all revolve around the proposition of the “transition from a natural state to a social state,” and to some extent has a nature of historical narrative. In the first three works, time flows in different ways and intersects with Rousseau’s “present moment,” forming a hidden temporal connection. The Social Contract breaks through the above historical and temporal framework, providing a correct social construction plan for ethnic groups living under specific historical conditions, and endowing their ideas with future dimensions. Therefore, beyond the universal history, Rousseau’s historical consciousness has presented a pursuit of historicism.