A way to overcome fanaticism: passion in modern French and British history of political thought

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K03265
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Politics
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Kawade Yoshie 東京大学, 大学院法学政治学研究科(法学部), 教授 (10265481)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 政治思想 / モンテスキュー / ヒューム / スタール / コンスタン / 情念

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Religious or ideological fanaticism, antagonism among different nations, nationalities and peoples and ferocious conflicts among factions may lead to foreign or civil war and cause a fatal crisis of political order. Politics must deal with how these serious problems that violent passions provoke are resolved. My project aims to clarify the arguments regarding fanaticism and violent passions in modern French and British history of political thought, by analyzing the ideas of Montesquieu, David Hume, Voltaire, Benjamin Constant and Madame Stael, who explored a way to overcome fanaticism in the Age of Enlightenment, Revolution, and post- Revolution.

Free Research Field

西洋政治思想史