Condorcet and Modernity [Hardcover]

A full treatment of Condorcet's politics, and a major contribution to enlightenment studies from a senior scholar.The Marquis de Condorcet was one of the few Enlightenment thinkers to witness, and indeed participate in, the French Revolution. Based on an extensive array of both printed and manuscript sources, Condorcet and Modernity is the first full treatment of Condorcet's politics to appear in English for a generation, and a major contribution to Enlightenment studies from one of its most distinguished practitioners. David Williams explores the complex links between Condorcet as visionary ideologist and Condorcet as pragmatic legislator, and between Condorcet's concept of modernity and the management of change.The Marquis de Condorcet was one of the few Enlightenment thinkers to witness, and indeed participate in, the French Revolution. Based on an extensive array of both printed and manuscript sources, Condorcet and Modernity is the first full treatment of Condorcet's politics to appear in English for a generation, and a major contribution to Enlightenment studies from one of its most distinguished practitioners. David Williams explores the complex links between Condorcet as visionary ideologist and Condorcet as pragmatic legislator, and between Condorcet's concept of modernity and the management of change.David Williams explores the complex links between Condorcet as visionary ideologist and pragmatic legislator, and between his concept of modernity and the management of change. The Marquis de Condorcet was one of the few Enlightenment thinkers to witness and participate in the French Revolution. Based on an extensive array of printed and original manuscript sources, Williams' analysis of Condorcet's politics will be a major contribution to Enlightenment studies.Acknowledgements; References and abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Profile of a political life; 2. Human nature and human rights; 3. The civil order; 4. Managing enlightenment; 5. Reform and the moral l��