The French Enlightenment and the Emergence of Modern Cynicism
Author： Sharon A. Stanley;
Publisher： Cambridge University Press
Publication year： 2012
E-ISBN: 9781316966099
P-ISBN(Paperback): 9781107014640
P-ISBN(Hardback): 9781107014640
Subject： K565.3 The history of the Middle Ages (486 - 1789).
Keyword： 政治理论
Language： ENG
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Description
Stanley argues that the French philosophes reveal the possibility of a democratically hospitable form of cynicism. Sharon A. Stanley analyzes cynicism from a political-theoretical perspective, arguing that cynicism isn't unique to our time and argues instead that the French philosophes reveal the possibility of a democratically hospitable form of cynicism. Sharon A. Stanley analyzes cynicism from a political-theoretical perspective, arguing that cynicism isn't unique to our time and argues instead that the French philosophes reveal the possibility of a democratically hospitable form of cynicism. 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. 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. “When is the last time you heard someone say that what we need today is more cynicism? Starting with some of the best thinkers of the eighteenth century, such as Diderot and Rousseau, and showing how Rousseau got it wrong by becoming a moralist and Diderot got it right by remaining a cynic, Sharon Stanley explains how cynicism can actually benefit modern (or postmodern) democracy.” – John Christian Laursen, University of California, Riverside “A wonderful rejoinder to the widespread lamentations about the alleged rise of cynicism and death of civil discourse. According to Stanley’s careful study, cynicism is not a ‘postmodern’ arrival, but a rich tradition with roots in the French Enlightenment. This book will change how you think about the opposition between modernity and postmodernity and the political value of cynicism itself.” – Jill Locke, Gustavus Adolphus College “Though pundits may treat political cynicism as the result of some recent political or economic mishap, Stanley’s lucidly argued, very timely book traces the emergence of modern cynicism back to the writings of French philosophers such as Diderot and Rousseau. She argues that the Enlightenment philosophers’ ambivalent embrace of their era’s commercial and market-driven sociability helped cynicism to become an ineradicable feature of post-Enlightenment societies and their social forms. Rather than treating this constitutive ‘impurity’ in our interactions as a cause of despair, however, Stanley suggests that there are times in democratic politics when it is precisely the actions we might describe as cynical (i.e., opportunistic, disbelieving, or accommodating) that allow political action or change to occur in the first place. An engaging and thoughtful study, which should appeal to scholars specializing in French Enlightenment philosophy, eighteenth-century literary studies, and contemporary political th
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