The French enlightenment and the emergence of modern cynicism
By: Sharon A. Stanley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9781107014640
Subjects: Enlightenment; Political science; Cynicism; POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory; Philosophy; History
Description: "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 has 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"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Introduction; Part I. The Enlightenment: 1. Enlightenment as disillusionment; 2. Unraveling natural Utopia; 3. The dark side of sociability; 4. The leveling power of commerce; 5. Hermits and cynics; Part II. The Present: 6. From Enlightenment to postmodernism; 7. Disenchanted democracy.