Montesquieu and the discovery of the social
By: Brian C.J. Singer, York University, Canada
Contributors: Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de, 1689-1755
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 296
ISBN-13: 9781137027696
Subjects: Philosophy; The State; Law; Political science; Social sciences
Description: Montesquieu has often been considered the first social theorist. Today, when a number of authors have pronounced 'the end of the social', it is time to reconsider its beginnings. What did it mean to 'discover the social'? What did it allow one to say that could not previously be said? What sorts of epistemological moves were required in order for this discovery to become possible? This book responds to these questions with a wide-ranging, original interpretation of The Spirit of the Laws. It demonstrates that Montesquieu provides several different senses and usages of the social, each of which builds on the others. The result is a 'divided concept' that challenges later, more simplistic understandings, and allows him to illuminate a number of the fractures central to our modernity. The last chapter brings the discussion forward, and asks what can be retrieved from Montesquieu in order to confront the present crisis of the social and its associated disciplines.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-290) and index.
Table of contents: title: The question concerning laws; title: Power, law and the three regimes : political bonds; title: The spirit of the three regimes : social bonds; title: The general spirit, moeurs, manners and the English regime; title: Conclusion : speaking of the social.