{"product_id":"9780691165448","title":"Man-Devil","description":"Author: John J. Callanan\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780691165448\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 01 May 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 328\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA lively and provocative account of Bernard Mandeville and the work that scandalised and appalled his contemporaries  and made him one of the most influential thinkers of the eighteenth century.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1714, doctor, philosopher and writer Bernard Mandeville published \u003ci\u003eThe Fable of the Bees,\u003c\/i\u003e a humorous tale in which a prosperous hive full of greedy and licentious bees trade their vices for virtues and immediately fall into economic and societal collapse. Outrage among the reading public followed; philosophers took up their pens to refute what they saw as the fable's central assertion. How could it be that an immoral community thrived but the introduction of morality caused it to crash and burn? In \u003ci\u003eMan-Devil\u003c\/i\u003e, John Callanan examines Mandeville and his famous fable, showing how its contentious claim  that vice was essential to the economic flourishing of any society  formed part of Mandeville's overall theory of human nature. Mandeville, Callanan argues, was perfectly suited to analyse and satirise the emerging phenomenon of modern society  and reveal the gap between its self-image and its reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCallanan shows that Mandeville's thinking was informed by his medical training and his innovative approach to the treatment of illness with both physiological and psychological components. Through incisive and controversial analyses of sexual mores, gender inequality, economic structures, and political ideology, Mandeville sought to provide a naturalistic account of human behaviour  one that put humans in close continuity with animals. Aware that his fellow human beings might find this offensive, he cloaked his theories in fables, poems, anecdotes, and humorous stories. Mandeville mastered irony precisely for the purpose of making us aware of uncomfortable aspects of our deepest natures \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003easpects that we still struggle to acknowledge today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46680675680414,"sku":"ADS-9780691165448","price":59.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9780691165448.jpg?v=1775543599","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9780691165448","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}