Lifschitz, AS; (2016) Adrastus versus Diogenes: Frederick the Great and Jean-Jacques Rousseau on Self-Love. In: Lifschitz, AS, (ed.) Engaging with Rousseau: Reaction and Interpretation from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. (pp. 17-32). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.

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Abstract

By contrast to the widely advertised collaboration between Frederick the Great and Voltaire, the Prussian king’s attitude towards Rousseau has not been the focus of much scholarly attention. Yet Frederick’s works and his correspondence attest to his long-lasting preoccupation with the themes raised by Rousseau in the Discourses of 1750s. Their mutual fascination reached its peak in 1762, when Rousseau sought refuge at the Prussian enclave of Neuchâtel following the outcry caused by Emile and the Social Contract. Both Rousseau and Frederick used an amalgam of Stoic and Epicurean elements in their discussions of self-love, but the king tended to classify Rousseau as a modern champion of virtue as self-denial. To this notion Frederick contrasted virtuous action for its own sake, without recourse to external rewards and punishments. The chapter argues that despite their disagreements, there was a much deeper common ground between Frederick’s notion of self-love and Rousseau’s modified views on the topic, especially as elaborated in Emile.

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