Gersonides on Providence
A Jewish Chapter in the History of the General Will
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4455536 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Steven Nadler (0000-0002-9823-8345, corresponding author), Steven M Nadler |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 37-57 |
| Publication date | 2001-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the History of Ideas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-5037 • E-ISSN: 1086-3222 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/jhi.2001.0008 |
| OpenAlex | W2044753366 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 4 |
The notion of the "general will" has proven to be one of the more influential and at the same time enduringly perplexing concepts in the history of ideas. Its most famous appearance is of course, in Rousseau's political philosophy as the expression, ideally embodied in the sovereign's commands, of what is in the common or public interest. The general will (la volonté générale) is, Rousseau says, the will of "the body of the people," that is, "the will that one has a citizen" for the common good. It thus stands in contrast to the "particular will" (la volonté particulière), the expression of one's individual and particularistic preference.1 In this political context, what gives the general will its generality is the universality of interest it represents. Its scope extends to all citizens and it specifies what is in the best interest of the members of the body politic as a whole. Although the general will may or may not coincide with each and every individual's private interest, all citizens are, as a matter of fact, properly served by its fulfillment
Economics · Epistemology · Expression (computer science) · Generality · Jewish history · Jewish studies · Judaism · Political science · Politics · Sovereignty · Theology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.13 |
| Citation span | 2002 - 2010 (9) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |