Ebook: The Pursuit of Laziness: An Idle Interpretation of the Enlightenment

We think of the Enlightenment as an era dominated by ideas of progress, production, and industry--not an era that favored the lax and indolent individual. But was the Enlightenment only about the unceasing improvement of self and society? The Pursuit of Laziness examines moral, political, and economic treatises of the period, and reveals that crucial eighteenth-century texts did find value in idleness and nonproductivity. Fleshing out Enlightenment thinking in the works of Denis Diderot, Joseph Joubert, Pierre de Marivaux, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Jean-Simeon Chardin, this book explores idle. Read more... Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction: Idle Nation; Chapter 1 The Surprises of Laziness: Marivaux; Chapter 2 Chardin's Slowness; Chapter 3 The Great Project of an Idle Life: Rousseau; Chapter 4 Paradox of the Idler: Diderot; Chapter 5 Philosophy on the Pillow: Joubert; Epilogue: Toward Moderation; Notes; Bibliography; Index