Practice question · True or false
Rousseau’s inclusion of humiliating episodes settles the question of whether he is sincere.
Hints
- Ask what a shameful admission is doing when it is made to prove honesty.
- The strongest move available to a person arguing for their own sincerity is exactly this one.
Show the answer
False
Why
False. A shameful admission offered as proof of honesty is performing rhetorical work, which is why it cannot settle the question by itself. Readers have argued about Rousseau’s sincerity for two hundred and fifty years precisely because his best evidence is also his most calculated move.
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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