The Fable of the Bees and Other Writings (Paperback)

Paperback. This edition includes, in addition to the most pertinent sections of The Fable's two volumes, a selection from Mandeville's An Enquiry into the Origin of Honor and selections from two of Mandevilles most important sources: Pierre Bayle and the Jansenist Pierre Nicole. Hundert's Introduction places Mandeville in a number of eighteenth-century debates--particularly that of the nature and morality of commercial modernity--and underscores the degree to which his work stood as a central problem, not only for his immediate English contemporaries, but for such philosophers as Hume, Rousseau, and Kant. The selections are substantive enough to faithfully represent Mandeville the social theorist, and compact enough to be used in courses that can afford to spend no more than a week on his work. Published anonymously in 1723, "The Fable of the Bees" by Bernard Mandeville came to be regarded as the epitome of immorality. It is a naturalistic account of the mechanism of human desire. This abridged edition also includes "The Fable" and background readings from two sources. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…