The Reveries of the Solitary Walker (Outside Reading)

April 4th, 2022

Rousseau, near the end of his lifetime, wrote a series of journals that were published posthumously under the title of "The Reveries of the Solitary Walker." This collection has a direct connection to much of the section of the class where we discussed pilgrimage, but also to the idea of oral and written culture. These writings are sometimes interpreted as Rousseau's attempt to go back to the state of nature. In them, he reflects on the walks that he takes through the wilderness and the solitude that he experiences. He was kicked out of the city that he lived in, Geneva, because they didn't like the writings that he had which were against the Enlightenment. The question that this brings up for me is whether we could ever somehow go back to an oral culture? For example, if we got a group of people to start a commune in the wilderness where we outlawed writing of any kind, would we be able to go back? Would it take multiple generations? Is it even possible to go back or would we continue to think in terms of the written word?

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