Shaftesbury and the idea of formation of the modern character

• Grant number: 11/50113-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants - Publications - Books published in Brazil
• Start date: May 01, 2011
• End date: April 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Luís Fernandes dos Santos Nascimento
• Grantee: Luís Fernandes dos Santos Nascimento
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The object of this thesis is the philosophy of Anthony Ashley Cooper, third earl of Shaftesbury, and more specifically the conception it presents of a modern character. Shaftesbury understanding of modernity in philosophical terms is present in at least three of the main themes of his philosophy: the relation between mankind and nature, the formation of the individual character as a component of the character of the times, the bounds that tie philosophical reflection to the art of writing. The first chapter of the thesis examines Shaftesbury understanding of man's role in the natural world, or the relations between mankind as a species and nature as a system. The focus is on “The moralists", a philosophical rhapsody, “An inquiry concerning virtue or merit” and “A letter of enthusiasm”. The second chapter deals with the text of Soliloquy, or advice to an author, in order to show how Shaftesbury conceives the process of personification as the precondition for the rising of the arts (including philosophy) which in tum are taken as the defining element of the character of the times. The third chapter shows that politeness and the refinement of taste, far from being mere motifs of fashion, are understood by Shaftesbury as philosophical topics of major importance. The focus here is on the texts of the miscellaneous reflections and of plastics. (AU)