Bøger af Pierre Manent

""Is not modern democracy the finally-found form of the religion of Humanity?" (2007) The Religion of Humanity: The Illusion of Our Times is the first anthology in any language of the writings of the contemporary French political philosopher, Pierre Manent, on "the religion of Humanity." The striking phrase comes from nineteenth-century French thinker, Auguste Comte (1798-1857). Comte coined the phrase and indeed created an atheistic religion of a self-adoring Humanity. In the aftermath of the Cold War, Manent observed victorious democracy interpreting itself in a similar framework. He took it upon himself to track this development, analyze it, and warn his fellow Europeans of its deleterious political, intellectual, moral, and spiritual effects. With conceptual precision and (most often) a sober tone, many contemporary sacred cows were gored. But in addition to cursing the humanitarian darkness, he also lit many candles of judicious political, philosophical, moral, and spiritual analysis. This anthology is thus almost unique in its subject matter, and certainly unique in its treatment of the subject. It is a rarity and gem: a first-rate work of political philosophy"--

Translation of: Situation de la France; published in France in 2015 by Groupe Artaege, Editions Desclaee de Brouwer.

In Montaigne: Life without Law, originally published in French in 2014 and now translated for the first time into English by Paul Seaton, Pierre Manent provides a careful reading of Montaigne's three-volume work Essays. Although Montaigne's writings resist easy analysis, Manent finds in them a subtle unity, and demonstrates the philosophical depth of Montaigne's reflections and the distinctive, even radical, character of his central ideas. To show Montaigne's unique contribution to modern philosophy, Manent compares his work to other modern thinkers, including Machiavelli, Hobbes, Pascal, and Rousseau. What does human life look like without the imposing presence of the state? asks Manent. In raising this question about Montaigne's Essays, Manent poses a question of great relevance to our contemporary situation. He argues that Montaigne's philosophical reflections focused on what he famously called la condition humaine, the human condition. Manent tracks Montaigne's development of this fundamental concept, focusing especially on his reworking of pagan and Christian understandings of virtue and pleasure, disputation and death. Bringing new form and content together, a new form of thinking and living is presented by Montaigne's Essays, a new model of a thoughtful life from one of the unsung founders of modernity.Throughout, Manent suggests alternatives and criticisms, some by way of contrasts with other thinkers, some in his own name. This is philosophical engagement at a very high level. In showing the unity of Montaigne's work, Manent's study will appeal especially to students and scholars of political theory, the history of modern philosophy, modern literature, and the origins of modernity.

Pierre Manent is one of France's leading political philosophers. This first English translation of his profound and strikingly original book La loi naturelle et les droits de l'homme is a reflection on the central question of the Western political tradition.

One of France's leading and most controversial political thinkers explores the central themes of Tocqueville's writings: the democratic revolution and the modern passion for equality.

Metamorphoses of the City is a sweeping interpretation of Europe's ambition to generate ever better forms of collective self-government, from ancient city-states and empires to a universal church and the nation-state. But the nation-state is nearing the end of its line, Pierre Manent says, and what will supplant it remains to be seen.

In this collection of writings, French philosopher Pierre Manent addresses a range of subjects, including the Machiavellian origins of modernity, Tocqueville's analysis of democracy, the political role of Christianity, the nature of totalitarianism and the future of the nation-state.

Highlighting social tensions that confront the liberal tradition, this book draws a portrait of what we, citizens of modern liberal democracies, have become. It argues that the frequent incapacity of the morally neutral, democratic state to further social causes derives from the liberal stance that political life does not serve a higher purpose.

Argues that the West has rejected the laws of God and of nature in a quest for human autonomy. This book contends that, in declaring ourselves free and autonomous, we have, paradoxically, lost a sense of what it means to be human. It offers an analysis of the confusions and contradictions at the heart of the modern condition.