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Reading Theory of Metaphor in Rousseau's Second Discourse and I came across this passage:

Very few informed readers today would still maintain that Rousseau's state of nature is an empirical reality, present, past, or future. [4]

He then writes this in the footnote:

  1. For a recent statement to this effect, among many others, see Henri Gouhier, Les meditations metaphysiques de J. J. Rousseau (Paris: Vrin, 1970), p. 23. For a clear formulation of the fictional character of the state of nature, see Herbert Dieckmann's edition of Diderot, Supplement au voyage de Bou gainville (Geneva: Droz, 1965), pp. lxxiii-xciv

While I was able to get an English translation of "Supplement au voyage de Bou gainville (Geneva: Droz, 1965)" I am having trouble finding one for "Les meditations metaphysiques de J. J. Rousseau (Paris: Vrin, 1970)".

The best I could find was a note made by Jeremiah Alberg in his book titled A Reinterpretation of Rousseau

As Gouhier comments in Les Méditations Métaphysiques De Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Paris: J. Vrin, 1970): “If the state of nature is not an historical epoch, but a hypothesis of the work [of the Discourse on Inequality] it is a hypothesis of the work that allows one to understand the historical human”

Does anyone know if there exists a full translation of Gouhier's work?

A Dark Divided Gem
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After an extensive search using every idea and skill I obtained in years of academic practice (and having to search for and verify quite obscure sources mentioned in book contributions when supporting editors), I have to say that there does not seem to exist a full translation into any language.

It is praised by several authors as containing exceptional contributions and observations both in German and English but even very recent research refers to either the 1970 (1st edition) and 1984 (2nd edition), or 2005 (2nd ed. reprint) French publications.

Thus, I'm afraid you have to rely on partial translations, hearsay, or your existing or soon-to-be prowess in French.

Philip Klöcking
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