Mandeville, Fable of the Bees

answer one of the following questions:

1) Mandeville writes: “the moral virtues are the political offspring which flattery begot upon pride.” Does Mandeville believe that virtues are necessary in commercial societies, or does his unmasking of the basis of social morality serve also as a critique?

2) Do we need to repress our desires in order to live happily in society, according to Mandeville?

3) Is luxury harmful to societies that require selfless sacrifice in their defense?

Casanova, History of My Life

1. Casanova writes of M. de Bragadin and his friends: “It was not very commendable of me to deceive them…but I was only twenty, and had been earning my bread in the orchestra of a theatre, and it was none of my business to point out to them the folly of their illusions.” Beyond Bragadin & co., what are the ‘illusions’ of the eighteenth-century elites that Casanova turns to his own profit?

2. Speaking of Lucy de Paséan, Casanova writes: “I have never, since Paséan, had occasion to reproach myself with leaving victories behind me for others to reap and, in some instances, I may have carried this system too far. My readers will judge.” Is Casanova a predator or a romantic?

3. Discuss Casanova’s meeting with Voltaire. What is the substance of their disagreement?

Rousseau, First Discourse

Answer one of the following:

1) Describe how knowledge leads to political and moral corruption, in Rousseau’s system.

2) It has often been observed that Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts is an example of the type of rhetoric and learning that Rousseau should reject. Discuss.

3) Does Casanova’s portrait of eighteenth-century Europe give force to Rousseau’s criticisms? Or does Rousseau simply underestimate the cardinal pleasures of luxury and conversation?

Cahiers of 1789/ Arthur Young, Travels in France

1. Compare the cahiers prepared by the Third Estate to those submitted by the Clergy. What are the points of similarity, and what are the points of obvious conflict in their respective demands?

2. All of the cahiers you have been asked to read dwell at length on the subject of taxes. Based upon you reading of these documents, what can you infer to be wrong with France’s system of taxation? Is there any consensus over remedies for this system?

3. Should Louis XVI and his ministers, upon reading these cahiers, have feared for the future of the French monarchy?

4. What, according to Arthur Young, were the causes of the French Revolution? Is his account corroborated by what you find in the cahiers?