An intellectual biography of the renowned and influential observer of the "era of tyrannies"
Elie Halevy (1870-1937) was one of the most respected and influential intellectuals of the French Third Republic. In this densely contextualized biography, K. Steven Vincent describes how Halevy, best remembered as the historian of British Utilitarianism and nineteenth-century English history, was also a persistent, acute, and increasingly anxious observer of society in a period defined by industrialization and imperialism and by what Halevy famously called the "era of tyrannies."
Vincent distinguishes three broad phases in the development of Halevy's thought. In the first, Halevy brought his version of neo-Kantianism to debates with sociologists and philosophers and to his study of English Utilitarianism. He forged ties with Xavier Leon, Leon Brunschvicg, and Alain (Emile-Auguste Chartier), life-long intellectual interlocutors. Together they founded the Revue de metaphysique et de morale, a continuing venue for Halevy's reflections. The Dreyfus Affair, Vincent argues, caused Halevy to shift his focus from philosophy to history and from metaphysics to politics. He became a philosopher-historian, less interested in abstract neo-Kantianism and more in real-world action, less given to rarified debates over truth and more to investigation of how theories and their applications were situated within broader political, economic, and cultural movements. World War I and its destabilizing effects provoked the third phase, Vincent explains. As he watched reason recede before rabid nationalism and a pox of political enthusiasms, Halevy sounded the alarm about liberal democracy's vulnerabilities.
Vincent situates Halevy on the unsteady and narrowing middle ground between state socialism and fascism, showing how he defended liberalism while, at the same time, appreciating socialists' analyses of capitalism's negative impact and their calls for reform and greater economic equality. Through his analysis of Halevy's life and works, Vincent illuminates the complexity of the Third Republic's philosophical, historical, and political thought and concludes with an incisive summary of the distinctive nature of French liberalism.

In this densely contextualized biography, K. Steven Vincent describes how Elie Halevy (1870-1937), one of the most respected and influential intellectuals of the French Third Republic, confronted the Dreyfus Affair, World War I, and the rise of interwar totalitarianism while defending a distinctively French version of liberalism.

About the Author
K. Steven Vincent is Professor of History at North Carolina State University and author of numerous books, most recently Benjamin Constant and the Birth of French Liberalism.

Reviews
"[An] outstanding achievement...[Vincent's book] will now be a key point of departure for anyone who wants to understand the intellectual culture of French liberalism in the Third Republic and, indeed, for anyone in search of the roots of the liberal revival initiated by Halevy's friend and disciple Raymond Aron." * Journal of Modern History *
"Incorporating cutting-edge scholarship to produce sophisticated and balanced analytical summaries of Elie Halevy's work, K. Steven Vincent has written a masterful intellectual biography that should appeal to historians, political theorists, and philosophers alike." * Helena Rosenblatt, Graduate Center-CUNY *
"K. Steven Vincent excels at intellectual biography and, in this latest book, deploys all available sources to get at the roots and substance of Elie Halevy's thinking. The result is a deftly organized, lucidly written, comprehensive, and meticulous exposition of Halevy's considerable and varied opus that successfully captures his complexity and depth." * Susan Ashley, Colorado College *



Book Information
ISBN 9780812252033
Author K. Steven Vincent
Format Hardback
Page Count 368
Imprint University of Pennsylvania Press
Publisher University of Pennsylvania Press