Sacrifice and self-interest in seventeenth-century France : quietism, Jansenism, and Cartesianism / by Thomas M. Lennon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lennon, Thomas M., author.

Series:

Brill's Studies in Intellectual History; volume304.

Brill's Studies in Intellectual History; volume304

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sacrifice.

Self-interest.

Quietism.

Jansenists.

Descartes, René, 1596-1650.

Descartes, René.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (318 pages).

Place of Publication:

Leiden Boston : BRILL, 2019.

Summary:

How much of our own self- interest should we be willing to sacrifice for love of another? The Quietists answered, all of it, even the salvation of our own soul. Opposing them were the Jansenists, including Arnauld, who saw self-interest as inescapable. The debate swept across French society in the 17th century, with Bossuet and Fénelon on opposite sides, and was multi- dimensional, with political and ecclesiastical intrigue, charges of heresy, and many shenanigans. Initially theological, the debate’s basis lay in differing philosophical concepts of freewill, with both sides claiming support from Descartes’s views. The debate thus highlights interpretation of the Cartesians, especially Malebranche, a prominent participant in it. Nevertheless, this is the first book on the debate in English.

Contents:

Front Matter

Copyright page

Dedication

Prologue

Apparatus

Pure Love

The Impossible Supposition

Quietism

Spontaneity and Indifference

The Augustinus

Cartesian Wills

The Object of Love

Bossuet’s Jansenism

The Dénouement

The Last Temptation

Back Matter

Chronology

“The Famous Five” Cum occasione, 31 May 1653

Cum alias, 12 March 1699

Bibliography of Works Cited

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

90-04-40449-X

OCLC:

1100425628

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004404496 DOI