Why did Abdallah Laroui Translate Rousseau’s Emile?

Abstract

Laroui is well aware that Rousseau's positions on religion, knowledge, and progress are complex, and at times contradictory. In different contexts in his introduction Laroui points out the complex mixed nature of aspects of Rousseau's philosophy. This analysis explores whether Rousseau's aim in this recent translation is to defend the Rousseauian perspective on religion, which insists on the simplicity and instinctiveness of religiosity?