Practice question · Multiple choice
Rousseau addresses his Confessions to a tribunal of readers rather than to God. What does this change about the book?
Hints
- Ask what an addressee who already knows everything cannot be.
- God cannot be persuaded of facts already in evidence; readers can.
Show the answer
C. It gives the book a case to argue, since readers can be persuaded
Why
It gives the book a case to argue. Augustine’s addressee already possesses the facts, so his confession cannot be a defence. Rousseau’s addressee must be convinced, which makes the whole work forensic, and makes its sincerity a rhetorical achievement rather than a given.
Practise Rousseau’s Confessions: the Self as Its Own Justification
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More questions on Rousseau’s Confessions: the Self as Its Own Justification
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