Shaftesbury and the Culture of Politeness: Moral Discourse and Cultural Politics in Early Eighteenth-Century England

Description

The third earl of Shaftesbury was a pivotal figure in eighteenth-century thought and culture. Professor Klein's new study is the first to examine the extensive Shaftesbury manuscripts and offer an interpretation that relates his ideas about philosophy, morals, religion and the arts to his social and political goals. Through politeness, Shaftesbury conceptualized a new kind of public and critical culture, and greatly influenced the philosophical and cultural models associated with the European Enlightenment.

"Klein has produced a detailed and thought provoking account of the earl's work, both in print and unpublished, through close textual analysis...Lawrence Klein has written a book that will be of great value to historians seeking to understand the intellectual and cultural upheavals that accompanied Britain's journey towards modernity." Victor Stater, Albion "Klein's study will be illuminating to a broad range of scholars, including philosophers, literary specialists, and historians of political thought, religion, the arts, and manners. It highlights Shaftesbury's political purposes but does not ignore his more frequently studied ideas regarding philosophy and morality. The book's strength is that it evaluates the bulk of Shaftesbury's writings, showing how complex and multifaceted a thinker he was." Marjorie Morgan, American Historical Review "Klein's argument is a solid historical one...his book is an intelligent and useful attempt to see Shaftesbury steadily and whole." John Sitter, SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 "Klein's study of Shaftesbury is rich and insightful ... his is also virtually the only stand alone contemporary treatment of Shaftesbury." International Journal of the Classical Tradition