Abstract

Rousseau’s moral philosophy, as Book IV of the Emile exemplifies, ties together two moral traditions: the morality of self-esteem (“amour-propre”) and that of moral sentiment. The use of one’s imagination, in the morality of self-esteem, links moral sentiment to self-interest and thus to self-esteem. Not using one’s imagination in the morality of moral sentiment, on the other hand, enables one to avoid this perversion. J.J. Rousseau’s moral philosophy is original in that it attempts to bring together the use of one’s imagination – which alone allows an affective rapport between oneself and others to be established – and genuine unselfish moral sentiment.