The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat: A Novel of Ideas
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.28 (727 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1844673693 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 262 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-04-24 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Steven Lukes is Professor of Sociology at NYU. He has previously taught at the London School of Economics and the University of Siena, and is the author of numerous works including Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work, Power: A Radical View and What is Left?
Ralph Blumenau said A fluently written and enjoyable satire. Professor Caritat (named after the surname of the Optimistic philosopher better known to us as the Marquis de Condorcet), a specialist on the thinkers of the Enlightenment, is a cross between a sophisticated Candide and a Gulliver. He is a citizen of Militaria, a repressive state run by a military dictatorship. He has to flee from that and embarks on a mission to find a state in which the ideas of 18th century philosophers have been applied and to see how these ideas have turned out in practice. He is loo. Free Speech Is More Important than Political Correctness Want to know why freedom of speech is critical? Read this book and see what happens when someone has the 'right' to not be offended. Totalitarianism rules to day when you take freedom of speech away. Luke's describes oppressive regimes one after the other when they are based solely on one line of political thought, but the worst and most entertaining is Communitarian, where if you offend someone you can be put to death (Sounds like the old Catholic Church and present day Islam) It is political correctness
The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat is a brilliant fictional journey through Western political philosophy by one of our most original thinkers. Cut loose from the confines of his ivory tower, this wandering professor is made to confront the perplexed state of modern thinking in this dazzling comedy of ideas.. Professor Caritat, a middle-aged Candide, walks naively through the neighbouring countries of Utilitaria, Communitaria and Libertaria, in his quest to find the best of all possible worlds
“Written in a beautifully clear style, full of a keen, serious wit Lukes achieves both lightness and weight in a way many novelists might envy.”—Independent“This book is a box of delights, often wonderfully funny and always deliciously clever, a contemporary political satire to set among the best.”—New Statesman“Steven Lukes’s moral fable is in the tradition of tall travellers’ tales from Swift and Voltaire to Lewis Carroll and Samuel Butler.”—London Review of Books“Knock-out satirical humour.”—Times Literary Supplement“Lukes manages to equal the pace and flair of Candide.”—New York Times Book Review“Utterly magnetic.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review