The Fable of the Bees: Or, Private Vices, Publick Benefits

Mandeville, Bernard

Published by Clarendon Press, 1924

About this Item

In fair condition. Spine of volume one is damaged at head. Missing segment. Spines are sunned, as to be expected. Boards show typical wear with light rounding of corners. Interiors in nice shape with even toning along edges, free of foxing and marginalia. Bindings remain tight and intact. Despite spine aesthetic issues, these remain a nice set. Please see photos. Bernard Mandeville is primarily remembered for his impact on discussions of morality and economic theory in the early eighteenth century. His most noteworthy and notorious work is The Fable of the Bees, which triggered immense public criticism at the time. He had a particular influence on philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment, most notably Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Adam Smith. The Fable s overall influence on the fields of ethics and economics is, perhaps, one of the greatest and most provocative of all early-eighteenth century English works. The controversy sparked by the Fable was over Mandeville s proposal that vices, such as vanity and greed, result in publically beneficial results. Along the same lines, he proposed that many of the actions commonly thought to be virtuous were, instead, self-interested at their core and therefore vicious. He was a critic of moral systems that claimed humans had natural feelings of benevolence toward one another, and he instead focused attention on self-interested passions like pride and vanity that led to apparent acts of benevolence. This caused his readers to imagine him to be a cruder reincarnation of Thomas Hobbes, particularly as a proponent of egoism. What follows is an overview of Mandeville s life and influence, paying specific attention to his impact on discussions of morality and economic theory. Seller Inventory # FORN-ABE-MSB-1120-Shelf-641-lh002

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Fable of the Bees: Or, Private Vices, ...

Publisher: Clarendon Press

Publication Date: 1924

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fair

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket