1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910797800703321

Autore

Mayfield D. S (Daniel Scott), <1984->

Titolo

Artful immorality - variants of cynicism : Machiavelli, Gracian, Diderot, Nietzsche / / by D. S. Mayfield

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berlin, [Germany] ; ; Boston, [Massachusetts] : , : De Gruyter, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

3-11-043183-1

3-11-043159-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (492 p.)

Collana

WeltLiteraturen/World Literatures. Schriftenreihe der Friedrich Schlegel Graduiertenschule fur literaturwissenschaftliche Studien, , 2198-9370 ; ; Band 8

Disciplina

183/.4

Soggetti

Cynicism

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Acknowledgements -- Table of Contents -- 1. Artful Immorality: Imprimis -- 2. Ancient Cynicism -- 3.1. Elegant Expediency: Machiavelli’s Il Principe (~1513) -- 3.2. Acute Concinnity: Gracián’s Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647) -- 3.3. A ‘Diogenes Redivivus’: Diderot’s Le Neveu De Rameau (~1774 / 1805 / 1891) -- 3.4. Beyond Morality, Or Cynicism: Nietzsche’s Nachgelassene Fragmente (1884–1889) -- 4. Morality’s Contingency -- Scribal Abbreviations -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

When a term is overused, it tends to fall out of fashion. Cynicism seems to be an exception. Its polytropic versatility apparently prevents any discontinuation of its application. Everyone knows that cynicism denotes that which is deemed deleterious at a given time; and every time will specify its toxicities – the apparent result being the term’s non-specificity. This study describes the cynical stance and statement so as to render the term’s use scholarly expedient. Close readings of textual sources commonly deemed cynical provide a legible starting point. A rhetorical analysis of aphorisms ascribed to the arch-Cynic Diogenes facilitates describing the design of cynical statements, as well as the characteristic features of the cynical stance. These patterns are identifiable in later texts generally labeled cynical – above all in



Machiavelli’s Principe. With recourse to the Diogenical archetype, cynicism is likewise rendered describable in Gracián’s Oráculo manual, Diderot’s Le neveu de Rameau, and Nietzsche’s Posthumous Fragments. This study’s description of cynicism provides a phenomenon otherwise considered amorphous with distinct contours, renders transparent its workings, and tenders a dependable basis for further analyses.