The Ends of Life

TRAMA

Stretching from the beginning of the Reformation to the heyday of the Enlightenment, here is a masterful exploration of the ways in which people sought to lead fulfilling lives, illuminating the central values of this key period, while casting incidental light on some of the perennial problems of human existence. Keith Thomas, one of the foremost historians of our time, sheds light on the origins of the modern ideal of human fulfilment and explores the many obstacles to its realization, looking at work, wealth, possessions friendship, family, and sociability. The book looks at the cult of military prowess, the pursuit of honor and reputation, the nature of religious belief, and the desire to be posthumously remembered. The Ends of Life offers a fresh approach to the history of early modern England, providing modern readers with much food for thought on the problem of how we should live and what goals in life we should pursue.

NOTE EDITORE

How should we live? That question was no less urgent for English men and women who lived between the early sixteenth and late eighteenth centuries than for this book's readers. Keith Thomas's masterly exploration of the ways in which people sought to lead fulfilling lives in those centuries between the beginning of the Reformation and the heyday of the Enlightenment illuminates the central values of the period, while casting incidental light on some of the perennial problems of human existence. Consideration of the origins of the modern ideal of human fulfilment and of obstacles to its realization in the early modern period frames an investigation that ranges from work, wealth, and possessions to the pleasures of friendship, family, and sociability. The cult of military prowess, the pursuit of honour and reputation, the nature of religious belief and scepticism, and the desire to be posthumously remembered are all drawn into the discussion, and the views and practices of ordinary people are measured against the opinions of the leading philosophers and theologians of the time. The Ends of Life offers a fresh approach to the history of early modern England, by one of the foremost historians of our time. It also provides modern readers with much food for thought on the problem of how we should live and what goals in life we should pursue.

SOMMARIO

1 - Fulfilment in an Age of Limited Possibilities2 - Military Prowess3 - Work and Vocation4 - Wealth and Possessions5 - Honour and Reputation6 - Friendship and Sociability7 - Fame and the After-Life

AUTORE

Sir Keith Thomas is a Fellow of All Souls College and former President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He is the author of several highly acclaimed books on early modern England, including Religion and the Decline of Magic, which won the Wolfson Literary Award for History in 1972. A former trustee of the National Gallery and the British Museum, he holds honorary doctorates from eleven universities. He is an Honorary Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society and was President of the British Academy between 1993 and 1997.

ALTRE INFORMAZIONI

• Condizione: Nuovo
• ISBN: 9780199247233
• Dimensioni: 240 x 39.0 x 162 mm Ø 808 gr
• Formato: Copertina rigida
• Illustration Notes: 14 black and white plates and 10 black and white halftones
• Pagine Arabe: 428