The Propriety of Liberty
Persons, Passions, and Judgement in Modern Political Thought
Published on 7. November 2010
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-691-14313-2 (ISBN)
Description
In this book, Duncan Kelly excavates, from the history of modern political thought, a largely forgotten claim about liberty as a form of propriety. By rethinking the intellectual and historical foundations of modern accounts of freedom, he brings into focus how this major vision of liberty developed between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries. In his framework, celebrated political writers, including John Locke, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and Thomas Hill Green pursue the claim that freedom is best understood as a form of responsible agency or propriety, and they do so by reconciling key moral and philosophical claims with classical and contemporary political theory. Their approach broadly assumes that only those persons who appropriately regulate their conduct can be thought of as free and responsible. At the same time, however, they recognize that such internal forms of self-propriety must be judged within the wider context of social and political life.
Kelly shows how the intellectual and practical demands of such a synthesis require these great writers to consider freedom as part of a broader set of arguments about the nature of personhood, the potentially irrational impact of the passions, and the obstinate problems of individual and political judgement. By exploring these relationships, "The Propriety of Liberty" not only revises the intellectual history of modern political thought, but also sheds light on contemporary debates about freedom and agency.
Kelly shows how the intellectual and practical demands of such a synthesis require these great writers to consider freedom as part of a broader set of arguments about the nature of personhood, the potentially irrational impact of the passions, and the obstinate problems of individual and political judgement. By exploring these relationships, "The Propriety of Liberty" not only revises the intellectual history of modern political thought, but also sheds light on contemporary debates about freedom and agency.
Reviews / Votes
"In the face of these obstacles, Kelly not only constructs a synthetic counter-narrative, he does so while embedding each writer in an almost unmanageably large body of current secondary scholarship and within the entire history of political thought. The result is an admirable demonstration of the power of intellectual history in the service of political theory... Finally, this fine work makes the larger argument that political theory must incorporate all three of its 'languages'--philosophy, history and theology--into the moral psychology of freedom."--Eldon J. Eisenach, History of Political Thought Journal "The Propriety of Liberty is a signal achievement in clarifying the contours of modern political and moral thinking about individual freedom and responsible agency in society."--Hussein Banai, Political Studies Review "This is a challenging but also deeply rewarding book. Kelly's command of the literature, the intelligence of his argument, and the level of detail that he offers are truly impressive. The book overflows with interesting insights."--Helena Rosenblatt, Journal of Modern HistoryMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
652 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-14313-2 (9780691143132)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2010
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
from
€56.19
Available for download
Person
Duncan Kelly is university senior lecturer in political theory in the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge, and fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. He is the author of "The State of the Political".
Content
Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations xiii Introduction: The Propriety of Liberty 1 The Self at Liberty 6 Liberty and Political Theory 9 Structure 12 Chapter One: "That glorious fabrick of liberty": John Locke, the Propriety of Liberty and the Quality of Responsible Agency 20 Propriety, Prudence and Interpretation 21 John Locke and Pierre Nicole: Language, Prudence and the Propriety of the Passions 24 Liberty and the Will 41 Persons, Passions and Judgement 46 Liberty and Personal Identity 53 Chapter Two: Passionate Liberty and Commercial Selfhood: Montesquieu's Political Theory of Moderation 59 Justice 61 Lessons in Classics: Politics, Friendship and Despotism 68 The Passions of the Soul and the Actions of the Machine 82 Moderation and Soulcraft: The Action of Passionate Selfhood 88 Legislative Passions and Civil Religion 94 Commercial Society and Political Liberty 105 Chapter Three:"The True Propriety of Language": Persuasive Mediocrity, Imaginative Delusion and Adam Smith's Political Theory 117 Persuasive Agency 119 Sympathy and Propriety 128 A Passion for Justice: Smith's Political Theory 141 The Origins of Government and the Paradoxes of Political Liberty 159 Conclusions 167 Chapter Four: Taking Things as They Are: John Stuart Mill on the Judgement of Character and the Cultivation of Civilization 173 Liberty by Example 175 Greek Legacies 186 Civilization, Civility, Cooperation 194 Excursus: Republicanism, Radicalism and Representation 204 The Politics of Civilization 210 Propriety in Time 218 Chapter Five: Idealism and the Historical Judgement of Freedom: T. H. Green and the Legacy of the English Revolution 223 Character and Action 226 Reformation and Revolution 234 Enthusiasm and Reform 241 Real Freedom 244 Political Theology 249 The Revolutionary Inheritance 255 Chapter Six: Coda: Liberty as Propriety 259 Problems of Self-Ownership 261 Responsible Agency 269 State Propriety 273 Bibliography 277 Index 341