This book explores the French Enlightenment's use of cross-cultural comparisons - particularly the figures of the Chinese mandarin and American and Polynesian savage - to praise of critique aspects of European society and to draw general conclusions regarding human nature, natural law, and the rise and decline of civilizations.

" the best overview of the French Enlightenment's engagement with diversity . . . This comprehensive and clear book should be read by everyone as a primer on the role of the Enlightenment in articulating the contours of many of the debates about diversity that still preoccupy us in the workplace, in law, and in the academy." - AHR

"Highly recommended." - CHOICE

Autorentext
David Harvey is an associate professor of History at the New College of Florida.

Inhalt
Philosophy in the Seraglio The Wisdom of the East The New World and the Noble Savage The Last Frontiers The Varieties of Man An Indelible Stain The Apotheosis of Europe