Europa Luminilor

by Ulrich Im Hof, Val Panaitescu (Translator)

Volumul descrie originile și dezvoltarea ideilor luministe, urmărind efectele lor asupra gîndirii, politicii și societății europene și americane. Pornind de la înfățișarea vieții intelectuale, sociale și politice a secolului al XVIII-lea, autorul prezintă universitățile, academiile și societățile de lectura din mijlocul carora au rasarit principiile luministe pentru filosofie, religie, politica si economie. Ideile luministe au pus bazele democratiei, conducind astfel spre marile revolutii din Franta si America. Dupa o analiza amanuntita a secolului al XVIII-lea, cartea se incheie cu o examinare a progresului luminist in secolul al XIX-lea, mergind pina la a stabili in ce masura ideile de atunci isi fac simtita prezenta si in secolul XX.

Cuprins: Epoca • Societatea in schimbare • Europa si statele sale • Purtatorii luminismului • Utopie si reforma • Marea deschidere spre lumea larga • Emanciparea – eliberarea din vechi constringeri • Radicalizarea luminismului si respingerea acestuia • Calea spre secolul al XIX-lea

Genres: History, Nonfiction

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Anne Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whirlwind tour of the Enlightenment, with a good emphasis on social and organizational roots. I found the discussions of clubs, fraternities, societies and academies particularly interesting. Quite detailed for the length, so it felt packed and fast. I doubt I will recall much of the speedy details, but the broad strokes are useful by themselves, and I made some notes for future reference. (Would have been a bit more useful if the index was stronger, or if there were separate subject and name indices.)

Recommended because it deals with all of Europe, more or less, and not just France, Germany and England (which many such books are prone to do). A good addition to a list of resources on the Enlightenment, but obviously not meant to be "the one book you read" on this very important subject (particularly because it deals only with Europe and only touches briefly here and there on the Americas). Some background knowledge on Enlightenment ideals would help, but I'd say most people could pick this book up and find it readable and interesting. Also recommended because it leads to many, many interesting points to research further.