Organic and Mechanical Metaphors in Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought

1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (8) ◽  
pp. 1832
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
American Political Thought ◽  
Late Eighteenth Century ◽  
Late Eighteenth

The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought

1984 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald S. Lutz
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Citation Count ◽  
Relative Influence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
American Political Thought ◽  
Late Eighteenth Century ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Surrogate Measure

Drawing upon a comprehensive list of political writings by Americans published between 1760 and 1805, the study uses a citation count drawn from these 916 items as a surrogate measure of the relative influence of European writers upon American political thought during the era. Contrary to the general tendencies in the recent literature, the results here indicate that there was no one European writer, or one tradition of writers, that dominated American political thought. There is evidence for moving beyond the Whig-Enlightenment dichotomy as the basis for textual analysis, and for expanding the set of individual European authors considered to have had an important effect on American thinking. Montesquieu, Blackstone, and Hume are most in need of upgrading in this regard. The patterns of influence apparently varied over the time period from 1760 to 1805, and future research on the relative influence of European thinkers must be more sensitive to this possibility.

Learning Conservatism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Jones
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Leisure Time ◽  
English Literature ◽  
General Level ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Late Eighteenth Century ◽  
Late Eighteenth ◽  
New Students

The construction of Burke as the ‘founder of conservatism’ was also a product of developments in education. The increasing study of Burke arose out of several converging movements: in publishing and technology; in philosophical thought; in the increasing disposable income and leisure time of greater portions of the population; and in education movements for men and women at all levels. The popularity of topics such as the French Revolution, Romanticism, and late eighteenth-century history meant that Burke became a feature of lectures and examinations. At university, Burke was of particular interest to philosophical Idealists, English literature professors and students, and a generation of historians who taught increasingly modern courses. By analysing how Burke was studied at this much more popular, general level it is possible to pinpoint how Burke’s ‘conservative’ political thought was taught to swathes of new students—it took more than gentlemanly erudition to establish a scholarly orthodoxy.

JOHANN GOTTFRIED HERDER AND ENLIGHTENMENT POLITICAL THOUGHT: FROM THE REFORM OF RUSSIA TO THE ANTHROPOLOGY OFBILDUNG

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
RETO SPECK
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Denis Diderot ◽  
The Political ◽  
Johann Gottfried Herder ◽  
Late Eighteenth Century ◽  
Late Eighteenth

This essay revises customary interpretations of Johann Gottfried Herder that stress the non-political or anarchical nature of his philosophy and his opposition to Enlightenment thought. Approaching his politics through the idea ofBildung, it argues that Herder first elaborated on this seminal concept in a series of early texts concerned with the reform of Russia. It analyses Herder's writings on Russia in the context of wider Enlightenment debates about the reform of the empire, and shows thatBildungwas employed as a means to mediate between contrasting models of political action put forward by contemporaries such as Voltaire and Denis Diderot. An outline of the subsequent development ofBildungin his anthropological works reinforces the political intention behind the concept, and situates Herder's political thought firmly within late eighteenth-century controversies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document