Mandeville's Fable: Pride, Hypocrisy, and Sociability

Robin Douglass argues that Bernard Mandeville's The Fable of the Bees is an important philosophical study of human nature and the origin of society in the Enlightenment era. He reconstructs Mandeville's theory of how self-centered individuals can live peacefully together in large societies, focusing on pride, shame, hypocrisy, and self-deception. Douglass shows how the book has the power to unsettle readers even today.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 02 May 2023
Publisher: Princeton University Press

Bernard Mandeville's The Fable of the Bees, published in the eighteenth century, caused outrage by asserting that private vices lead to public prosperity. However, this work is now recognized as an early iteration of laissez-faire capitalism. In his book, Robin Douglass aims to reclaim the status of The Fable of the Bees as one of the most insightful philosophical studies of human nature and the origin of society during the Enlightenment era. Douglass delves into Mandeville's moral, social, and political ideas, offering a revelatory account of why we should take Mandeville seriously as a philosopher.

Douglass expertly reconstructs Mandeville's theory of how self-centered individuals, who prioritize their reputation and social standing above all else, can coexist peacefully in large societies. According to Mandeville, pride and shame are the primary motives behind human behavior, with a significant dose of hypocrisy and self-deception underlying our moral practices. Douglass meticulously analyzes the changes between different editions of The Fable, considers Mandeville's arguments in light of objections and rival accounts from other eighteenth-century philosophers such as Shaftesbury, Hume, and Smith, and draws on recent findings from social psychology.

Through this detailed and original reassessment of Mandeville's philosophy, Douglass demonstrates how The Fable of the Bees, by shedding light on the darker aspects of human nature, continues to unsettle readers even in the modern day.

Weight: 446g
Dimension: 232 x 157 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691219172