ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author considers if the characterization ‘Age of Reason’ might be biased, and he debate other forms of Enlightenment intellectual engagement by putting forward some of Rousseau’s and Smith’s insights. He describes the approach systematically taken to the eighteenth century of trying to correlate everything to the primacy of reason. The author discusses the importance of the changes in public awareness of les Hommes des Lumieres. He examines how Rousseau’s anthropological theory fits the renewed organization of the public sphere and considers whether Rousseau’s views might be compatible with those of Smith. The foundations of Rousseau’s philosophical system are established in the Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality among Men. Rousseau states this several times throughout his biographical writings. The only way to inquire into the complexity of the reality is by using imagination, because only imagination can dive into the complexity of the substance and distinguish modes and accidents.
