Stock photo. Cover may not represent actual copy or condition available.
The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat
A Comedy of Ideas
by Steven Lukes
ISBN: 1859840736
ISBN-13: 9781859840733
Format: Paperback
|
Summary
Enlightenment professor Nicholas Caritat is sent to find "the best possible world". On his mission, he encounters the Militarian Pessimists, and their opposition, the revolutionary Optimists. The Optimists are having a hard time of it against the Pessimists, and they send Caritat in disguise (as Professor Pangloss) to Utilitaria, a country where everything runs efficiently and smoothly but which is ultimately as oppressive as Militaria. Caritat then travels to Communitaria and Libertaria, where he encounters the metaphorical extremes of contemporary governments.
Customer Reviews
Review this book!
Media Reviews
"Most astrophysicists could write a bad novel, whereas few novelists could rise to being even poor astrophysicists. Those who live in the world of letters have to suffer the humiliation of knowing that, like courting or clog dancing, writing fiction is something that almost anyone can do indifferently. There is a nasty piece of work inside most of us. The author of a study of Durkheim would not seem the most obvious candidate for literary creation, but Steven Luke's novel is as enjoyable as it is because, not in spite of, the fact that he is a political philosopher." -- Terry Eagleton
-- Times Literary Supplement
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Verso Books
Published date: 1996
Size: 5.75 x 8.5 inches
Weight: 0.85 pounds
Publisher's Notes
'A counterpart to Sophie's World, for those seeking an introduction to political theory.' Prospect 'A contemporary political satire to set among the best.' New Statesman
Other Editions
Similar books
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
Since its publication fifty years ago, Animal Farm has become one of the most controversial books ever written. It has been translated into seventy languages and sold millions of copies throughout the world. This edition is being published to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of its original U.S. publication. It features 100 full-color and halftone illustrations by world-renowned artist Ralph Steadman. As vital and relevant as it was fifty years ago, Animal Farm is a devastating satire of the Soviet Union by the man V. S. Pritchett called "the conscience of his generation". A fable about an uprising of farm animals against their human masters, it illustrates how new tyranny replaces old in the wake of revolutions and power corrupts even the noblest of causes. This anniversary edition includes Orwell's proposed but unpublished preface to the original edition and his preface to the 1947 Ukranian edition. These appendices evoke the historical context in which Orwell conceived and wrote his classic novel.
Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov
Wittgenstein's Nephew
by Thomas Bernhard
It is 1967, in a Viennese hospital. In separate wards, two men lie bedridden: the narrator, named Thomas Bernhard, is stricken with a lung ailment; his friend Paul, nephew of the celebrated philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, is suffering from one of his periodic bouts of madness. Beginning with his memory of the hospital, Bernhard traces the growth of an intense friendship between two eccentric, obsessive men who share a passion for music, a strange sense of humor, brutal honestly, and a disgust for bourgeois Vienna.
The Banquet in Blitva
by Miroslav Krleza
Brave New World Brave New World Revisited
by Aldous Huxley
When the novel Brave New World first appeared in 1932, its shocking analysis of a scientific dictatorship seemed a projection into the remote future. Here, in one of the most important and fascinating books of his career, Aldous Huxley uses his tremendous knowledge of human relations to compare the modern-day world with his prophetic fantasy. He scrutinizes threats to humanity, such as overpopulation, propaganda, and chemical persuasion, and explains why we have found it virtually impossible to avoid them. Brave New World Revisited is a trenchant plea that humankind should educate itself for freedom before it is too late.
|
|
Ready to buy this book?
Below are all of the copies of 1859840736 we currently have available for purchase, sorted by lowest price first. If you would like to refine your search, use the advanced options in the search box above.
|
|
3)
|
Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat
Steven Lukes
Verso, 1996. Paperback. Good Condition - ex lib, inscription front endpaper, minimal markings, clean pages, tight binding. By turns witty and profound,' The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat is a novel in the spirit of Gulliver's Travels or Animal Farm. Telling the story of the travels of a Professor Caritat, who Is in search of the perfect world, Steven Lukes takes us on an irreverent romp through the history of western political philosophy. Doing for that discipline what Sophie's World did for philosophy in general, The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat is both a refreshingly humorous introduction to the clashing ideologies of our time, and a passionate defence of the much-abused Enlightenment and its core values of reason, freedom and tolerance. ( more information) Offered by 3rdHouseBooks (Australia)
Favorite bookseller : you've previously added this bookseller to your favorites list.
|
|
|
7)
|
The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat: A Comedy of Ideas
Lukes, Steven
Verso. PAPERBACK. 1859840736 New with very slight shelf wear from time on shelf (like you'd see at a major chain). We ship daily, provide personalized customer service and want you to have a great experience purchasing from us. Thank you for your consideration. . New. ( more information) Offered by BennettBooksLtd (United States)
Favorite bookseller : you've previously added this bookseller to your favorites list.
|
|
|
0 items in cart
Muze Inc. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved. Some content for books is owned by Baker & Taylor, Inc. or its licensors and is subject to copyright and all other protections provided by applicable law.
