'Anger is a Short Madness': Dealing with Anger in Émile's Education

This paper considers the place of anger in human development and culture, as discussed by Rousseau in Émile. It is argued that Rousseau presents anger as intimately associated with imperious self-assertion, and with a representation of others as malign and obstructive. If this pattern of thought and expectation is consolidated, the will to dominate these supposedly obstructive others becomes the central preoccupation. The madness lies in the idea contained in this that failure in having one's desires satisfied signals a wrong, an abuse one has suffered. Regulation of anger is necessary to achieving a proper sense of our finitude, limitation and a reasoned sense of our dependence on others.