What will become of Rousseau when read in a non-transcendent way, as a line of some of the most prominent contemporary theorists of the philosophy of education would suggest as inevitable? To answer this question, the position and analytical tools of Jacques Derrida are clarified, and Rousseau’s “Émile ou De l’éducation” is read non-transcendentally, which implies a challenge and a deconstruction of the way Rousseau has built the argument for his educational project. The article concludes with a critical discussion of (...) its own method, and challenges the asserted unavoidability of the deconstructive readings of Rousseau’s text. (shrink)