A Discourse on the Moral Effects of the Arts and Sciences (1750), also known as Discourse on the Sciences and Arts (French: Discours sur les sciences et les arts) and commonly referred to as The First Discourse, is an essay by Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau which argued that the arts and sciences corrupt human morality. It was Rousseau's first successful published philosophical work, and it was the first expression of his influential views about nature vs. society, to which he would dedicate the rest of his intellectual life. This work is considered one of his most important works.

Das Handbuch behandelt ‚Diskurs‘ als linguistisches Konzept. Mit theoretischer Verankerung in einer Diskursanalyse nach Foucault ist darunter ein unauflösbarer Zusammenhang von linguistischen Aussagen und Praxisformen der Sprache zu verstehen, die Wissen gleichermaßen referenzieren und konstruieren. Da Diskurs aber nicht nur ein systematischer Terminus zur Hierarchisierung des sprachlichen Konstituentensystems ist, sondern auch und je nach Konzeption vor allem eine transversale Dimension der Sprache und ihrer Analyse bezeichnet, ergeben sich aus diskurslinguistischen Erkenntnisinteressen vielfältige innerdisziplinäre und interdisziplinäre Bezüge. Das Handbuch reflektiert diese Bezüge in vier Teilen. In Teil I. werden Basiskonzepte und Anschlusstheorien vorgestellt. In II. wird die Frage nach angemessenen Methoden der Diskurslinguistik durch sechs grundlegende methodische Angebote behandelt. In III. werden linguistische Ansätze der Analyse von Diskursen als dynamische, heterogene und auch agonale Konstellationen dargestellt. In Teil IV. wird die Materialität des Diskurses als wissensbezogene Kodierung von sozialen Aushandlungen und Überzeugungen behandelt. Der Band erfasst damit die gesamte aktuelle Diskussion der Diskurslinguistik.

Individualist and communitarian. Anarchist and totalitarian. Classicist and romanticist. Progressive and reactionary. Since the eighteenth century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau has been said to be all of these things. Few philosophers have been the subject of as much or as intense debate, yet almost everyone agrees that Rousseau is among the most important and influential thinkers in the history of political philosophy. This new edition of his major political writings, published in the year of the three-hundredth anniversary of his birth, renews attention to the perennial importance of Rousseau’s work. The book brings together superb new translations by renowned Rousseau scholar John T. Scott of three of Rousseau’s works: the Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, the Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men, and On the Social Contract. The two Discourses show Rousseau developing his well-known conception of the natural goodness of man and the problems posed by life in society. With the Social Contract, Rousseau became the first major thinker to argue that democracy is the only legitimate form of political organization. Scott’s extensive introduction enhances our understanding of these foundational writings, providing background information, social and historical context, and guidance for interpreting the works. Throughout, translation and editorial notes clarify ideas and terms that might not be immediately familiar to most readers. The three works collected in The Major Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau represent an important contribution to eighteenth-century political theory that has exerted an extensive influence on generations of thinkers, beginning with the leaders of the French Revolution and continuing to the present day. The new translations on offer here will be welcomed by a wide readership of both Rousseau scholars and readers with a general interest in political thought.