SOCI 330 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Persian Letters, Montesquieu, Constitution Of The United Kingdom
3 Dec 2016
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Montesquieu: life story lived between 1689 and 1755. Came from a family that supported henry the 4th of france. Was aware of religious difference between him and his wife. He has a strong presence in bordeaux. He had local loyalist to an area that had a self-government. In bordeaux, he gained a position in the parliament and in which he noticed torture. Part of montesquieu"s social theory depends upon the awareness of pain. He uses the voice of enlightenment, tolerance, softness. He did not keep his position in the parliament for long. In the the early years in bordeaux, he was a member of the local academy and wrote a number of essays (one about empire shows that he despises empires, one about science- conducted experiments) Moved to paris, to publish the persian letters in 1721. The year 1721 tells us something about the book - louis 15th is king, and it is a period of openness.
