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Bezig met laden... A Pocket Philosophical Dictionary (Oxford World's Classics) (origineel 1764; editie 2011)door Voltaire, Nicholas Cronk (Medewerker), John Fletcher (Vertaler)
Informatie over het werkA Pocket Philosophical Dictionary (Oxford World's Classics) door Voltaire (1764)
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Reading Voltaire's "combative" rise against religion, dogma and superstition is unusual in that, at times, it is hard to tell whether he is being satirical or serious. That he was an historian is obvious. That he was well-travelled even more so. What strikes me is his knowledge of the world, put to good use in Candide, and taken to another level in the Dictionary. The notes and appendix are helpful to place Voltaire in historical context. An interesting quote from the article "Toleration" resonates today: "if there are two religions in your country they will be at each other's throats; if you have thirty they will live in peace". This comes from his work Letters Concerning the English Nation and is a precursor to recent ideas about free trade "where commerce levels the differences between cultures and so brings men (sic) together". At least the was the theory before the "post-truth" world. ( ) So, I got to the end of the substantive part of this book, which is every bit as wonderful and satirical and Enlightenment-y as you'd expect; I read the last few lines of the last entry (on Virtue), made to put it down, but then noticed the Appendix which began on the next page: 'Two Portraits of Voltaire in 1764', contemporary accounts by two men of letters (John Morgan and James Boswell) of their encounters with the 70-year-old Voltaire shortly after the publication of this book. These are hidden gems: I can't for the life of me see why their presence is not more obviously indicated on the cover. I found the end of Boswell's letter, in which he describes Voltaire offering an impassioned account of the nature of his faith, actually quite moving. So anyone else reading this great little book, don't accidentally miss the Appendix! geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Here is the only available English translation of one of the landmarks of European Enlightenment thought, Voltaire's 1764 edition of A Pocket Philosophical Dictionary. Highly entertaining and still highly relevant, the "dictionary" actually consists of a sequence of short essays, arranged in alphabetical order, covering everything from Apocalypse and Atheism to Tolerance and Tyranny. The unifying thread of these articles is Voltaire's vitriolic critique of established religion: ridicule of established dogma, attacks on superstition, and pleas for toleration. Witty and ironic, this is very much a work of combat, part of Voltaire's high-profile political struggle in the 1760s to defend the victims of religious and political intolerance. This new translation is based on the definitive French edition of 1764 that provoked widespread controversy and condemnation. In his Introduction Nicholas Cronk considers the nature of Voltaire's engagement in political debate, literary style, contemporary reaction, the lasting impact of the work and its continuing relevance to debates on religious intolerance. The volume also includes an up-to-date bibliography and full explanatory notes. - Publisher. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)194Philosophy and Psychology Modern western philosophy French philosophersLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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