Description
Trade Review"Gordon has written a sophisticated and original interpretation of how the idea of sociability evolved in French culture from the reign of Louis XIV to the French Revolution... a work of impressive erudition."--Choice
Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction31Absolutism and the Ideal Types of Sociability9The Well-Policed State9Sociability and Democracy24Five Ideal Types332The Language of Sociability43The Enlightenment as a Lexicon43Historical Semantics48The Rise of "Society"51The Concept of Latent Sociability in Natural Law54The Amalgamation of Natural Law and Politeness61Self-Centered Cosmopolitanism73The Religion of Society763The Civilizing Process Revisited86The Varieties of Civility86The Rules of Irrelevance94The Public Sphere in Apolitical Form107The Douceur of the Gentleman116Politeness and the Lineage of the Enlightenment1264Sociability and Universal History: Jean-Baptiste Suard and the Scottish Enlightenment in France129Universal History129France and the Scottish Enlightenment133Storm over Suard137The Virtues of Being Lazy141Ossian: The Savage Poet145Robertson: The Progress of Refinement150Hume: The Elimination of Politics1605Andre Morellet and the End of the Enlightenment177Form versus Substance177The Rules of Criticism182The Quest for Integration189Public Opinion and Civility199The Philosophy of Grain208Revolution and the New Liberalism226Conclusion242Select Bibliography247Index267
