Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness: Manners and Morals from Locke to Austen
Jenny Davidson
In Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness, Jenny Davidson
considers the arguments that define hypocrisy as a moral and political
virtue in its own right. She shows that these were arguments that
thrived in the medium of eighteenth-century Britain's culture of
politeness. In the debate about the balance between truthfulness and
politeness, Davidson argues that eighteenth-century writers from Locke
to Austen come down firmly on the side of politeness. This is the case
even when it is associated with dissimulation or hypocrisy. These
writers argue that the open profession of vice is far more dangerous for
society than even the most glaring discrepancies between what people
say in public and what they do in private. This book explores what
happens when controversial arguments in favour of hypocrisy enter the
mainstream, making it increasingly hard to tell the difference between
hypocrisy and more obviously attractive qualities like modesty,
self-control and tact.
considers the arguments that define hypocrisy as a moral and political
virtue in its own right. She shows that these were arguments that
thrived in the medium of eighteenth-century Britain's culture of
politeness. In the debate about the balance between truthfulness and
politeness, Davidson argues that eighteenth-century writers from Locke
to Austen come down firmly on the side of politeness. This is the case
even when it is associated with dissimulation or hypocrisy. These
writers argue that the open profession of vice is far more dangerous for
society than even the most glaring discrepancies between what people
say in public and what they do in private. This book explores what
happens when controversial arguments in favour of hypocrisy enter the
mainstream, making it increasingly hard to tell the difference between
hypocrisy and more obviously attractive qualities like modesty,
self-control and tact.
Kategorije:
Godina:
2004
Izdavač:
Cambridge University Press
Jezik:
english
Strane:
254
ISBN 10:
0511196040
ISBN 13:
9780521835237
Fajl:
PDF, 2.31 MB
IPFS:
,
english, 2004