Modernity?

(Rousseau)


After the discussion last week, I looked up some general information on the termionology of "modernity" and the debate of "what is modern?" A lot of what I found on the web was quite vague, but the wikipedia article had some very basic descriptions and lots of links to other sites in the same vein of "modernism." Here is the main page, which is good to use as a jumping-off point:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernity

I liked the "Paradox of Modernity" section particularly. It reflected a lot of what Rousseau was saying. I feel he could have predicted what would happen as humans continued to compete against one another in an unnatural habitat.

I also found two interesting articles about Rousseau, one that calls him an "idiot," and one that defends him. They both show how Rousseau's philosophies have been used in the modern world, from the founding American fathers, to the modern Ukraine.

http://www.ukraine-observer.com/articles/225/954

http://www.ukraine-observer.com/articles/226/969