Description
Book SynopsisEnlightenment thinkers of the eighteenth century were committed to the ideal of reflective autonomy--the principle that each of us should think for ourselves, particularly when determining moral and political standards. In keeping with that era''s reputation as the age of reason, many interpreted autonomy in a distinctively rationalist way--privileging reflective reason over all other mental faculties. However, other leading philosophers of the era--such as David Hume, Adam Smith, and J.G. Herder--placed greater emphasis on feeling, seeing moral and political reflection as the proper work of the mind as a whole. They argued that without emotion, imagination, and sympathy we would be incapable of developing the moral sentiments that form the basis of our commitment to justice and virtue. The Enlightenment of Sympathy reclaims the sentimentalist theory of reflective autonomy as a resource for enriching social science, normative theory, and political practice today. The sentimentalist des
Trade ReviewMichael Frazer has written a thought-provoking analysis and defense of sentimentalist theory. His excellent book is well written and carefully researched, offering insightful discussions of a wide range of thinkers. It will be of great interest to students and scholars working in, among other areas, moral theory, political theory, and eighteenth-century thought. * Charles L. Griswold, Professor of Philosophy, Boston University, and author of Forgiveness: A Philosophical Exploration *
Michael Frazer's The Enlightenment of Sympathy corrects a widely entrenched but nonetheless benighted reading of the Enlightenment. Frazer shows how the sentimentalist branch of the enlightenment anticipates much recent scholarship, both philosophical and neuroscientific, on the essential role of emotion. This precise and deft project of recovery should be read by anyone who wishes to be enthused by this superbly argued prophetic endeavor. * George E. Marcus, Professor of Political Science, Williams College, and author of The Sentimental Citizen *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ; Introduction: A Tale of Two Enlightenments ; Chapter 1: Sentimentalism Before Hume ; I. The New Science of Human Nature ; II. Religious and Metaphysical Foundations ; III. Theories of Justice ; Chapter 2: Hume's Free-Standing Sentimentalism ; I. Sympathy and the Moral Sentiments ; II. Moral Development ; III. Hume's Normative Theory ; Chapter 3: Hume's Conservative Sentimentalism ; I. Hume's Theory of Justice ; II. The Sentimentalist Case Against Hume's Theory ; Chapter 4: Adam Smith's Liberal Sentimentalism ; I. The Alleged Incompatibility of Sentimentalism with Individualism ; II. The Space Between Actor and Spectator: Sympathy and Moral Judgment ; III. The Space Between Actors: Justice and Natural Jurisprudence ; Chapter 5: Kant's Abandonment of Sentimentalism ; I. The Critical-Period Position on the Foundations of Morals ; II. The Critical-Period Normative Evaluation of Sympathy ; III. The Critical-Period Theory of Affects and Passions ; IV. A Contrasting Pre-Critical Position ; Chapter 6: Herder's Pluralist Sentimentalism ; I. Sentimentalism and the Problem of Diversity ; II. From Sympathy to Diversity ; III. From Diversity to Empathetic Understanding ; IV. From Empathetic Understanding to Justice ; Chapter 7: Sentimentalism Today ; I. Sentimentalism and Social Science ; II. Sentimentalism and Normative Theory ; III. Sentimentalism and Political Practice ; Bibliography
