Enlightened Pleasures: Eighteenth-Century France and the New Epicureanism Contributor(s): Kavanagh, Thomas M. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0300140940 ISBN-13: 9780300140941 Publisher: Yale University Press OUR PRICE: $83.16 Product Type: Hardcover Published: March 2010 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | Europe - France - Literary Criticism | European - French - Philosophy | History & Surveys - General |
Dewey: 944.034 |
LCCN: 2009027231 |
Series: Lewis Walpole Series in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History (Hardcover) |
Physical Information: 1" H x 6.2" W x 9.3" (1.15 lbs) 264 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Cultural Region - French |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher 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. |