Visions of the Enlightenment

by Sauter, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9789004176515
• ISBN10: 9004176519
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-06-30
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub

Summary

This book examines the public battle sparked by the promulgation in 1788 of Prussia's Edict on Religion. Historians have seen in this moment nothing less than the end of the Enlightenment in Prussia. This book begs to differ and argues that social control had a long "enlightened" pedigree. Using both archival and published documents, this book reveals deeply the entire Prussian elite was invested in social control of the masses, especially in the public sphere. What emerges is a picture of the Enlightenment in Prussia as a conservative enterprise that was limited by not merely the state but also the social anxities of the Prussian elite. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Michael J. Sauter is Professor-Investigador at Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas, A.C. in Mexico City.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
The Frederickian Monarchy and the Enlightenment in Prussia	p. 23
The Ponytail, the Enthusiast, and the "Enlightened" Public Sphere	p. 49
The Enlightenment on Trial	p. 79
Conscience and the Rhetoric of Freedom	p. 105
Counting the Enlightenment	p. 141
What was Enlightenment?	p. 167
Conclusion	p. 193
All Texts (120) Published in Response to the Edict	p. 201
Reviews (57) Not Published in the "Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek"	p. 208
On the Philosophical Debate on the Nature and Boundaries of the Enlightenment	p. 211
Bibliography	p. 213
Index	p. 239
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