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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Chambers Of Reflection: Rousseau, Tocqueville, And Self-Government In The Digital Age, John Sweeney
Chambers Of Reflection: Rousseau, Tocqueville, And Self-Government In The Digital Age, John Sweeney
Honors Projects
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Alexis de Tocqueville each warn that the dominant cultures of their days may hinder the project of self-government. Against the backdrop of advancing Enlightenment philosophy, Rousseau writes that as social visibility increases relative to intimate connection, the drive for recognition corrupts self-love. Following the American and French revolutions, Tocqueville explores the democratic erosion of social hierarchies. He writes that a rise in individualism may obscure “self-interest well-understood”—the perspective gained through collaboration with others, thoughtful reflection, and reverence for truths that lie beyond the dictates of cursory instincts.
In this project, I apply these political theories to the …