Enlightened Pleasures : Eighteenth-Century France and the New Epicureanism Hardback
by Thomas M. Kavanagh
Part of the The Lewis Walpole Series in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History series
Hardback
Description
Novelists, artists, and philosophers of the eighteenth century understood pleasure as a virtue—a gift to be shared with one’s companion, with a reader, or with the public. In this daring new book, Thomas Kavanagh overturns the prevailing scholarly tradition that views eighteenth-century France primarily as the incubator of the Revolution. Instead, Kavanagh demonstrates how the art and literature of the era put the experience of pleasure at the center of the cultural agenda, leading to advances in both ethics and aesthetics.
Kavanagh shows that pleasure is not necessarily hedonistic or opposed to Enlightenment ideals in general; rather, he argues that the pleasure of individuals is necessary for the welfare of their community.
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:264 pages, 21 b-w illus.
- Publisher:Yale University Press
- Publication Date:16/03/2010
- Category:
- ISBN:9780300140941
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:264 pages, 21 b-w illus.
- Publisher:Yale University Press
- Publication Date:16/03/2010
- Category:
- ISBN:9780300140941
