The Crisis of Reason: European Thought, 1848-1914 (Yale Intellectual History of the West)

This elegant and skilful book explores the history of ideas in Europe from the revolutions of 1848 to the beginning of the First World War. Broader than a straight survey, deeper and richer than a textbook, the work seeks to place the reader in the position of 'an informed eavesdropper on the intellectual conversations of the past'. After an introductory chapter which introduces the mental world of the mid-nineteenth century, Burrow explores the impact of science and social thought on European intellectual life, considering ideas in physics, through social evolution and Social Darwinism, to anxieties about modernity and personal identity. His discussion also takes in powerful and fashionable concepts in evolution, art, myth, the occult and the unconscious mind, considers the rise of the great cities of Berlin, Paris and London, and the work of literary writers, philosophers and composers. The text is populated by most of the great and many of the lesser known intellectual figures of the age, from Mill, Bakunin, Nietzsche, Bergson and Renan to Pater, Proust, Clough, Flaubert, Wagner and Wilde. A work of rare distinction and considerable erudition, the book is written in a graceful, entertaining style, which will ensure its accessibility to the widest range of scholars, students and general readers This elegantly written book explores the history of ideas in Europe from the revolutions of 1848 to the beginning of the First World War. Broader than a narrative survey, deeper and richer than a textbook, it seeks to place the reader in the position of an informed eavesdropper on the intellectual conversations of the past.J. W. Burrow first outlines the intellectual context of the mid-nineteenth century, the period which saw the birth of democracy in most European states, and the rise of the great modern city - Berlin, Paris and London. He then explores the impact of science and social thought on European intellectual life, from ideas in physics, social evolution and Social Darwinism, to anxieties about modernity and personal identity. The discussion encompasses powerful and fashionable concepts in evolution, art, myth, the occult and the unconscious mind. Woven into this fascinating web of ideas and movements is the work of novelists, poets, artists, playwrights, philosophers and composers. As a result the text is populated by most of the great - and many of the lesser known - intellectual figures of the age, from Mill, Bakunin, Nietzsche, Bergson and Renan to Dostoevsky, Ibsen, Pater, Proust, Clough, Flaubert, Wagner and Wilde.The author of this brilliant synthesis wears his erudition lightly, and his book will be both entertaining and challenging for scholars, students and the general public. 1. The Stuff Of The World And The Promises Of Science -- The New Generation -- The Conservation Of Matter And Energy ; Materialist Reductionism -- The Enigma Of Consciousness And The Impact Of Evolution -- The Claims Of Science : Science As Vocation -- The Reaction Against Materialism : Phenomenalism, Pragmatism And Pan-psychism -- 2. Social Evolution And The Sciences Of Culture -- A Classified World -- Social Evolution As The Division Of Labour -- Sciences Of Religion And Culture : France, Britain, Germany -- Social Darwinism, Eugenics And Race -- 3. Community And Modernity -- The Market And Modernity -- Community : The Mar, The Mir And The Guild -- The Ethical State -- Nation And State In Germany -- Nationalism And The Critique Of Modernity : Myth And Charisma -- 4. The Elusive Self -- The Burden Of Freedom -- 'character' -- The Flux Of Experience -- The Unconscious -- 5. Constructing The Self -- Work Of Art And Microcosm -- 'decadence' And 'life' -- The Calling And The Deed -- 6. Immanence, Revelation And Transcendence -- Incarnation -- Myth And Revelation -- The Occult. J.w. Burrow. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [254]-263) And Index. An exploration of the history of ideas in Europe from the revolutions of 1848 to the beginning of World War I. The text is populated with the great thinkers of the age - among them Mill, Nietzsche and Wilde - and examines the impact of scientific and social concepts such as social Darwinism.