Politics and the Passions, 1500-1850

Focusing on the new theories of human motivation that emerged during thetransition from feudalism to the modern period this is the first book of newessays on th... » 

Focusing on the new theories of human motivation that emerged during thetransition from feudalism to the modern period this is the first book of newessays on the relationship between politics and the passions from Machiavellito Bentham. Contributors address the crisis of moral and philosophicaldiscourse in the early modern period the necessity of inventing a new way ofdescribing the relation between reflection and action and private and publicselves the disciplinary regulation of the body and the ideologicalconstitution of identity. The collection as a whole asks whether a discourse ofthe passions might provide a critical perspective on the politics ofsubjectivity. Whatever their specific approach to the question of ideology allthe essays reconsider the legacy of the passions in modern political theory andthe importance of the history of politics and the passions for modern politicaldebates. Contributors in addition to the editors are John McCormick TimothyHampton John Guillory Judith Butler Nancy Armstrong and Leonard TennenhousePatrick Coleman Riccardo Caporali Howard Caygill and Frances Ferguson. «