Montesquieu and the Discovery of the Social [electronic resource] /
Singer, Brian.author.
Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat,baron de,1689-1755.L'esprit des lois.
Montesquieu is often considered the first social thinker. Today, when 'the end of the social' has been proclaimed, it is time to reconsider its beginnings. In a wide-ranging, original interpretation of The Spirit of the Laws, this book explores what did it mean to 'discover the social', and what can it mean to recover the social today?
Description based upon print version of record.
Cover; Contents; Preface and Acknowledgements; 1 The Question Concerning Laws; Durkheim on Montesquieu: social vs. political laws; 'Laws in general'; A hierarchy in ruins; The origins of positive law; 2 Power, Law and the Three Regimes: Political Bonds; Power . . . particularly despotic power; The passions that bind . . . particularly the despotic passions; Words that bind: the languages of power; Laws that bind part 1: despotisms and democracies; Laws that bind part 2: monarchies; An excursus on history; 3 The Spirit of the Three Regimes: Social Bonds
Democratic bonds: the constitution of transparent orderThe despotic bond: the institution of disorder; Monarchy and the construction of an order of appearances; An excursus on liberty; 4 The General Spirit, Moeurs, Manners and the English Regime; The 'general spirit': moeurs and manners; Detour on China: the empire of manners; The constitution of the English regime; The spirit of the English regime; An excursus on economics; 5 Conclusion: Speaking of the Social; The social from the perspective of the political; The political from the perspective of the social
The social separated from the politicalThe social: sociability and associability; The end of the social?; Bibliography; Index
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Montesquieu is often considered the first social thinker. Today, when 'the end of the social' has been proclaimed, it is time to reconsider its beginnings. In a wide-ranging, original interpretation of The Spirit of the Laws, this book explores what did it mean to 'discover the social', and what can it mean to recover the social today?
Political sociology.
Social sciences-Philosophy.
Political philosophy.
Political theory.
Sociology.
Political Sociology.
Social Theory.
Political Philosophy.
Social Philosophy.
Political Theory.
Sociology, general.