Flattery and the History of Political Thought: That Glib and Oily Art

ISBN-13: 9781107043367 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 238 str.

Daniel Kapust

Opis

Demonstrates flattery's importance for political theory, addressing representation, republicanism, and rhetoric through classical, early modern, and eighteenth-century thought.

Recenzje

'At a moment when democracies are struggling mightily with questions of leadership, trust, and demagoguery, Kapust's Flattery and the History of Political Thought offers an impressive theoretical and historical account. Kapust carefully disentangles the power relations surrounding different forms of the phenomenon and highlights the critical importance of context when it comes to passing judgment on that 'glib and oily art'. Moreover, his work offers richly detailed insights into multiple historical periods, from ancient Rome to Renaissance Europe to eighteenth-century England and the US. In doing so, he has produced a work that will speak to anyone interested in the relationship between speech and political power, whether from a historical perspective or at this very moment.' Elizabeth Markovits, Mount Holyoke College, and author of The Politics of Sincerity

Spis treści

Introduction; 1. 'Suffer no man to be king': friendship, liberty, and status in Roman political thought; 2. Without 'superfluous ornament': Castiglione, Machiavelli, and the performance of counsel; 3. 'The Monarch's plague': the problem of flattery and Hobbes's contingently unitary sovereign; 4. 'The bewitching engine': Mandeville and Smith on flattery, praise, and the origins of language; 5. 'Flattering to young ambitious minds': representing America in the ratification; Conclusion.