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Bezig met laden... The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness, 1680-1790 (2020)door Ritchie Robertson
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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.   ) Fortunesdearest | Feb 1, 2024 |  This is as much a history as it is a work about the philosophical works of the time. Robertson offers excellent readings of the major works as well as many of the minor works, but most importantly he weaves these ideas into the history. Many books will touch on events in illustrating the importance of these works, but they often concentrate on one or two major events that most clearly show whatever aspect of the work they are emphasizing. Robertson certainly chooses events that support his readings but he chooses far more widely than most. The idea of happiness needs, for the reader, to be separated from what we often think of as happiness in contemporary society. Happiness now is largely commodified and measured in luxury and/or leisure time and objects. Happiness during the Enlightenment(s) was far more concerned with making life better for more people, making the world so that everyone might find some enjoyment from their time here. I don't know that the general idea of happiness being an important element in what Enlightenment thought was about is entirely new, I seem to remember Pagden touching on the same basic theme, though perhaps without using the word happiness as much. But Robertson makes a much stronger case through both textual analysis and historical interpretation. As such, this book stands alone in my reading in broadening my concept of what the thinkers of the time were seeking and trying to accomplish. I would highly recommend this to readers regardless of their background in Enlightenment texts. I think Robertson explains the works well enough for anyone to grasp the main ideas and situate those ideas in the bigger picture. For those who haven't read many of the works I also think this will help you to decide which texts you might find interesting and which you might want to skip. For those who have read many of the works I think reading any good interpretations is beneficial in that it makes us think and revisit what we may have taken for granted or forgotten. We don't have to agree to get value from reading this, though I think it is hard to find fault in most of what is presented. Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. (  )1  pomo58 | Sep 29, 2020 |
Mr. Robertson is no harrumphing apologist. A professor of German literature at Oxford University, he is splendidly erudite. Generally admiring of the intellectuals he styles (somewhat unhappily) the “Enlighteners,” he nevertheless surveys their failures with a clear eye... Though overly voluble at times, Mr. Robertson is a splendid writer, astoundingly versed in European letters and gifted at vividly sketching the views of the “Enlighteners.” He has produced a book that will work best when sampled, with each chapter read as a free-standing essay.
History.
Nonfiction.
HTML: A magisterial history that recasts the Enlightenment as a period not solely consumed with rationale and reason, but rather as a pursuit of practical means to achieve greater human happiness. Robertson returns to the era's original texts to show that above all, the Enlightenment was really about increasing human happiness â?? in this world rather than the next â?? by promoting scientific inquiry and reasoned argument. In so doing Robertson chronicles the campaigns mounted by some Enlightened figures against evils like capital punishment, judicial torture, serfdom and witchcraft trials, featuring the experiences of major figures like Voltaire and Diderot alongside ordinary people who lived through this extraordinary moment. In answering the question 'What is Enlightenment?' in 1784, Kant famously urged men and women above all to "have the courage to use your own intellect". Robertson shows how the thinkers of the Enlightenment did just that, seeking a well-rounded understanding of humanity in which reason was balanced with emotion and sensibility. Drawing on philosophy, theology, historiography and literature across the major western European languages, The Enlightenment is a master-class in big picture history about the foundational epoch of modern times Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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 Google Books — Bezig met laden...GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)190.9Philosophy and Psychology Modern western philosophy Modern Philosophers Biography; Enlightenment - History By PlaceLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde: (4.22)
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