The Enlightenment : the pursuit of happiness, 1680-1790

Book 2021

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. One of the formative periods of European and world history, the Enlightenment is the fountainhead of modern secular Western values: religious tolerance, freedom of thought, speech and the press, of rationality and evidence-based argument. Yet why, over three...

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Explore Topics & Themes:

Enlightenment

Europe Intellectual life 18th century

Intellectual life History

Philosophy, Modern 18th century

Social action Europe

Well-being Europe

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ISBN:

9780062410658

Edition:

First U.S. edition

Description:

xxii, 984 pages ; 24 cm

Notes:

"Originally published in Great Britain in 2020 by Allen Lane"--Title page verso
Includes bibliographical references (pages 781-925) and index
Includes quotations in French, German, or Italian, most with English translation

Contents:

Preface
Note on translations
Happiness, reason and passion
The scientific revolution
Toleration
The religious enlightenment
Unbelief and speculation
Science and sensibility
Sociability
Practical enlightenment
Aesthetics
The science of society
Philosophical history
Cosmopolitanism
Forms of government
Revolutions
Conclusion: the battle over the enlightenment

Control Number:

3051770

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