Pragmatic Enlightenment
Recovering the Liberalism of Hume, Smith, Montesquieu, and Voltaire
Published on 18. November 2013
978-1-107-70334-6 (ISBN)
Description
This is a study of the political theory of the Enlightenment, focusing on four leading eighteenth-century thinkers: David Hume, Adam Smith, Montesquieu and Voltaire. Dennis C. Rasmussen calls attention to the particular strand of the Enlightenment these thinkers represent, which he terms the 'pragmatic Enlightenment'. He defends this strand of Enlightenment thought against both the Enlightenment's critics and some of the more idealistic Enlightenment figures who tend to have more followers today, such as John Locke, Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham. Professor Rasmussen argues that Hume, Smith, Montesquieu and Voltaire exemplify an especially attractive type of liberalism, one that is more realistic, moderate, flexible, and contextually sensitive than most other branches of this tradition.
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Dennis C. Rasmussen
The Pragmatic Enlightenment
Recovering the Liberalism of Hume, Smith, Montesquieu, and Voltaire
Book
11/2013
Cambridge University Press
€97.90
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