A Godless fable: atheism and the philosophy of Bernard Mandeville.

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dc.contributor.authorCorbeil, Patrick
dc.contributor.supervisorWood, Paul
dc.date.accessioned2011-08-11T20:05:17Z
dc.date.available2011-08-11T20:05:17Z
dc.date.copyright2011en_US
dc.date.issued2011-08-11
dc.degree.departmentDept. of Historyen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en_US
dc.description.abstractThe Anglo-Dutch philosopher Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733) was among the most controversial figures writing in English in the eighteenth century. His satirical exploration of the nature of human sociability and economic prosperity infuriated his contemporary critics and deeply influenced the ideas of later Enlightenment philosophes. One of the most persistent questions about Mandeville's work concerns the sincerity of his declarations of Christian piety. Mandeville is commonly identified as a deist. This thesis explores the possibility that he was an atheist. The question is examined through an analysis of Mandeville’s major influences, most notably French Jansenism, Epicureanism, Scepticism, erudite libertinism, and Dutch republicanism. Key figures that Mandeville engaged with in his writings include Pierre Bayle, René Descartes, Shaftesbury, Thomas Hobbes, Pierre Nicole, and Pierre Gassendi. In the process of discussing Mandeville’s putative atheism, the methodological problem of researching and identifying atheism in early-modern Europe is explored.en_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/3446
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rights.tempAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectAtheismen_US
dc.subjectBernard Mandevilleen_US
dc.subjectDeismen_US
dc.subjectDutch republicanismen_US
dc.subjectEpicureanismen_US
dc.subjectErudite libertinismen_US
dc.subjectJansenismen_US
dc.subjectPierre Bayleen_US
dc.subjectPierre Gassendien_US
dc.subjectPierre Nicoleen_US
dc.subjectRené Descartesen_US
dc.subjectScepticismen_US
dc.subjectShaftesburyen_US
dc.subjectSociabilityen_US
dc.subjectThomas Hobbesen_US
dc.titleA Godless fable: atheism and the philosophy of Bernard Mandeville.en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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