Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol

One aspect of Rousseau’s thought that may have piqued Adam Smith’s admiration, curiosity, and intellect, even before his travels to Geneva in 1765-66, was the Swiss philosopher’s Lettre à M. d’Alembert sur les spectacles, first published in 1758, the original … Continue reading →

Pictured above is Dr Théodore Tronchin (1709-1781), one of the most celebrated — in some quarters, despised — medical doctors of the Age of Enlightenment. In this post, Alain Alcouffe and I will discuss what we like to call “the … Continue reading →

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) descended from a long-line of Genevan watchmakers, for his father Isaac Rousseau (1672–1747) and his grandfather David Rousseau (1641–1738) — as well as his great- and great-great grandfathers! — were master clockmakers in the city-state of Geneva. … Continue reading →

Thus far, Alain Alcouffe and I have explored Adam Smith’s possible motives for visiting the Swiss city-state of Geneva in the fall of 1765 (cf. the map of Geneva below, circa 1760). Among other things, we established a possible connection … Continue reading →

Alain Alcouffe and I have been researching Adam Smith’s sojourn in Switzerland. More specifically, we have posed a number of questions about this chapter of Smith’s life. Did he, for example, take an interest in the whereabout of Jean-Jacques Rousseau … Continue reading →

In this post (and our next one), Alain Alcouffe and I will address the following questions: Why did the leaders of the Republic of Geneva try to suppress The Social Contract, and what role, if any, did Marc Turretin — … Continue reading →

As Alain Alcouffe and I mentioned in our previous post, the rather mysterious-sounding “Syndic Turretin” is mentioned in passing in John Rae’s biography of Adam Smith (Rae 1895, p. 191). According to Rae, this particular individual was one of the … Continue reading →

In addition to the great Voltaire and his mistress Madame Denis, Adam Smith met and befriended many other noteworthy men and women during his extended sojourn in the picturesque Swiss city-state of Geneva (pictured below, circa 1780). Among these illustrious … Continue reading →

Thus far, Alain Alcouffe and I have explored two important incidents that coincided with Adam Smith’s sojourn in Switzerland in late 1765/early 1766: (1) the Voltaire-Needham clash over the question of miracles, and (2) the “Dillon Affair” or “Fracas at … Continue reading →