ISBN:
9781137027702
,
1137027703
,
9781137027696
Language:
English
Pages:
XXVIII, 328 S.
Edition:
Online-Ausg. 2013 Online-Ressource Palgrave connect. Social sciences
Parallel Title:
Print version Montesquieu and the Discovery of the Social
DDC:
320.092
Keywords:
Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat,
;
baron de, 1689-1755
;
Criticism and interpretation
;
Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat,--baron de, 1689-1755
;
De l'esprit des lois
;
Social institutions
;
Political science
;
History
;
18th century
;
Law
;
Philosophy
;
State, The
;
Electronic books
Abstract:
Montesquieu is often considered the first social thinker. Today, when 'the end of the social' has been proclaimed, it is time to reconsider its beginnings. In a wide-ranging, original interpretation of The Spirit of the Laws, this book explores what did it mean to 'discover the social', and what can it mean to recover the social today?, Montesquieu has often been considered the first social theorist. Today, when a number of authors have pronounced 'the end of the social', it is time to reconsider its beginnings. What did it mean to 'discover the social'? What did it allow one to say that could not previously be said? What sorts of epistemological moves were required in order for this discovery to become possible? This book responds to these questions with a wide-ranging, original interpretation of The Spirit of the Laws. It demonstrates that Montesquieu provides several different senses and usages of the social, each of which builds on the others. The result is a 'divided concept' that challenges later, more simplistic understandings, and allows him to illuminate a number of the fractures central to our modernity. The last chapter brings the discussion forward, and asks what can be retrieved from Montesquieu in order to confront the present crisis of the social and its associated disciplines
Abstract:
Electronic book text. - Epublication based on: 9781137027696, 2013
Abstract:
Montesquieu is often considered the first social thinker. Today, when 'the end of the social' has been proclaimed, it is time to reconsider its beginnings. In a wide-ranging, original interpretation of The Spirit of the Laws, this book explores what did it mean to 'discover the social', and what can it mean to recover the social today?
Description / Table of Contents:
Cover; Contents; Preface and Acknowledgements; 1 The Question Concerning Laws; Durkheim on Montesquieu: social vs. political laws; 'Laws in general'; A hierarchy in ruins; The origins of positive law; 2 Power, Law and the Three Regimes: Political Bonds; Power . . . particularly despotic power; The passions that bind . . . particularly the despotic passions; Words that bind: the languages of power; Laws that bind part 1: despotisms and democracies; Laws that bind part 2: monarchies; An excursus on history; 3 The Spirit of the Three Regimes: Social Bonds
Description / Table of Contents:
Democratic bonds: the constitution of transparent orderThe despotic bond: the institution of disorder; Monarchy and the construction of an order of appearances; An excursus on liberty; 4 The General Spirit, Moeurs, Manners and the English Regime; The 'general spirit': moeurs and manners; Detour on China: the empire of manners; The constitution of the English regime; The spirit of the English regime; An excursus on economics; 5 Conclusion: Speaking of the Social; The social from the perspective of the political; The political from the perspective of the social
Description / Table of Contents:
The social separated from the politicalThe social: sociability and associability; The end of the social?; Bibliography; Index
Note:
Description based upon print version of record
DOI:
10.1057/9781137027702
URN:
10.1057/9781137027702
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