tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5074683.post4843469018151632825..comments2024-03-23T07:33:30.972+00:00Comments on Quodlibeta: Enlightenment ContestedJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01594220073836613367noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5074683.post-21995849188222946792023-05-18T08:24:14.573+01:002023-05-18T08:24:14.573+01:00Thanks for a great reaadThanks for a great reaadBeef Recipeshttps://www.beefideas.com/beef/steak_filet_with_rosemary_and_roasted_potatoes_5458503770.shtmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5074683.post-70951487565962023102011-01-21T13:02:31.782+00:002011-01-21T13:02:31.782+00:00Again I have only dipped into it, but it's pre...Again I have only dipped into it, but it's pretty impressive from what I have seen so far. I't won a lot of acclaim in it's field and has set the context for future debate. Only two complaints. 1) it is of course highly focused on Spinoza which can be a bit myopic; but overall he has restored the enlightenment as an international movement rather than one focused on national lines. 2) it tends to see the moderate enlightenment as fence sitters - for example Noel Malcolm complained in 'Aspects of Hobbes' that Hobbes was at least as critical a figure in the radical enlightenment as Spinoza which is certainly not Israel's view.Humphreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11936974517695558399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5074683.post-86719475117419465652011-01-21T00:48:04.665+00:002011-01-21T00:48:04.665+00:00Humphrey, is Israel's book still worth a read?...Humphrey, is Israel's book still worth a read?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5074683.post-75871532093114146032011-01-20T02:54:28.369+00:002011-01-20T02:54:28.369+00:00Anon,
Actually, I think it's not so clear tha...Anon,<br /><br />Actually, I think it's not so clear that they can't be linked to the Enlightenment; the Enlightenment was not a well-defined movement. And politics isn't a barrier in any direction; depending on exactly where and when we're talking about, you can find thinkers who were clearly part of the Enlightenment arguing in at least qualified ways for philosophical totalitarianisms and enlightened despotisms as well as for the opposite. Part of the reason being, of course, that if you're interested in reforms it is much easier to enact them by convincing Catherine of Russia, say, than by convincing the common people. Also, no one in the Enlightenment thought that that Enlightenment was the goal; even people like Diderot who doubted whether despotism was ever justifiable explicitly held that Enlightenment was consistent with it, because Enlightenment was just the transitional state, and that has to be consistent with lots of things. And, setting aside the Jacobins themselves, it's not as hard as one might think to find Enlightenment thinkers who saw the French Revolution itself as being clearly an expression of the Enlightenment, even if they disagreed with the methods of the Terror.<br /><br />The question is made even more complicated by the fact that who counts as an 'Enlightenment thinker' can sometimes change depending on who is arguing and what, precisely, they are arguing for -- Rousseau is the most notorious example of someone who is Enlightenment or not entirely as people find convenient, but he's not the only one. Also, it's become more and more clear over the past few decades that some of what gets counted as 'Enlightenment thinking' might actually be post-Enlightenment, connected to the Enlightenment by Rousseau-inspired educational movements, but early nineteenth century rather than eighteenth century, and highly Romantic in character.<br /><br />Such things are one of the reasons why historians are increasingly tending to talk in terms of Enlightenments rather than in terms of 'the Enlightenment'.Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06698839146562734910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5074683.post-1898733138758313892011-01-20T02:50:09.654+00:002011-01-20T02:50:09.654+00:00"I am reading the kindle edition at the momen..."I am reading the kindle edition at the moment but I have had to send it back to the publishers as the formatting is broken."<br /><br />May I offer a suggestion as to the contents of the note accompanying your broken file?<br /><br />"Dear Publishers,<br /><br />Papyrus scrolls and illuminated manuscripts have been with us for several centuries. They are durable, they are easily read (provided you understand the language), and they don't suffer from formatting errors and computer viruses.<br /><br />Amazing how the ancient peoples manage to look far more impressive and produce a better product than you, no?"<br /><br />He he he.Stannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5074683.post-83644117317530604022011-01-19T15:37:07.529+00:002011-01-19T15:37:07.529+00:00Thanks anon - I shall have to see what Edelstein h...Thanks anon - I shall have to see what Edelstein has to say. I am reading the kindle edition at the moment but I have had to send it back to the publishers as the formatting is broken.Humphreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11936974517695558399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5074683.post-23298597247125205522011-01-19T15:20:04.730+00:002011-01-19T15:20:04.730+00:00Hard to link the Jacobins to the Enlightenment. Ma...Hard to link the Jacobins to the Enlightenment. Many of Roberspierre's speeches are pure Platonic totalitarianism and the model the Jacobins discussed for their education system was that of Sparta.The American Constitution is more representative of Enlightenment thinking. Jack Rakove's book Revolutionaries shows how the Founding Fathers drew on contemporary thinking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com