Mass Enlightenment: Critical Studies in Rousseau and Diderot (SUNY series in Social and Political Thought) - Softcover

Simon, Julia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791426386 ISBN 13: 9780791426388

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1995

Synopsis

Using the writings of the critical theorists of the Frankfurt School as a framework, this book uncovers the tensions and contradictions associated with the rise of capitalism as manifested in the writings of Rousseau and Diderot.

Mass Enlightenment uncovers the tensions and contradictions associated with the rise of capitalism and mass culture as they were already making themselves felt during the second half of the eighteenth century and shows that the works of Rousseau and Diderot display a manifest awareness of the negative side of "enlightenment" and "progress." Simon explores the themes of individual freedom and moral autonomy, the growth of a consumer market, alienated social relations, the split between the public and private spheres, and the appearance of commodification as they are articulated in the writings of Rousseau and Diderot. Her careful readings of these Enlightenment theorists expose concerns over the crisis tendencies associated with capitalism and a consumer market similar to those diagnosed by the writers of the Frankfurt School.

About this title

About the Author

Julia Simon is Assistant Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Washington University.

Edition details

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0791426386
• ISBN 13: 9780791426388
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 236