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The French enlightenment and the emergence of modern cynicism / Sharon A. Stanley.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Stanley, Sharon A., 1977- author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Political science--France--Philosophy--History--18th century.
- Political science.
- Cynicism--History.
- Cynicism.
- Enlightenment--France.
- Enlightenment.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (ix, 225 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).
- Other Title:
- The French Enlightenment & the Emergence of Modern Cynicism
- Place of Publication:
- Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- Sharon A. Stanley analyzes cynicism from a political-theoretical perspective, arguing that cynicism isn't unique to our time. Instead, she posits that cynicism emerged in the works of French Enlightenment philosophers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Denis Diderot. She explains how eighteenth-century theories of epistemology, nature, sociability and commerce converged to form a recognizably modern form of cynicism, foreshadowing postmodernism. While recent scholarship and popular commentary have depicted cynicism as threatening to healthy democracies and political practices, Stanley argues instead that the French philosophes reveal the possibility of a democratically hospitable form of cynicism.
- Contents:
- Part I The Eighteenth Century
- 1 Enlightenment as Disillusionment 25
- 2 Unraveling Natural Utopia: Diderot's Supplement to the Voyage of Bougainville and the Legacy of Cynicism 48
- 3 The Dark Side of Sociability: Philosophes and Libertines 75
- 4 The Leveling Power of Commerce 106
- 5 Hermits and Cynics: Rousseau and Rameau's Nephew 128
- Part II The Present
- 6 From Enlightenment to Postmodernism 157
- 7 Disenchanted Democracy and the Ineradicability of Cynicism 180.
- Notes:
- Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 1-139-33434-4
- 1-107-22989-8
- 1-280-39409-9
- 9786613572011
- 1-139-33777-7
- 1-139-34022-0
- 1-139-34180-4
- 1-139-33690-8
- 1-139-33864-1
- 1-139-03568-1
- OCLC:
- 792684525
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