Happiness, as much a poetic as a philosophical, sociological, and psychological concept, has been, through the ages, at the heart of the needs each individual seeks to fulfil. But today, in a world dominated by techno...Happiness, as much a poetic as a philosophical, sociological, and psychological concept, has been, through the ages, at the heart of the needs each individual seeks to fulfil. But today, in a world dominated by technology, driven by productivity and dictated by efficiency, what about Happiness？ Does it feature in works of fiction in any significant way？ May it not have adopted different guises？ ls that ＂duty of happiness＂ that Pascal Bruckner was talking about present in the French novel of the 20th-21th centuries？ And if it is, has its force strengthened or weakened？ This article will discuss the French Novels （of the 20th-21th centuries） that are devoted to or associated with Happiness in a direct or indirect manner. It will contextualize and analyze the transformation of Happiness, within the context of the historical and social events that influenced that period： the Holocaust, consumerism, postmodernism, structural social changes, the various as yet unarticulated new modes of life they created, and so on. To that end, this article will explore the discursive philosophical concept of happiness and its influence on the formation of the French novel. In so doing it will focus on the explicit discourse behind the motifs, the choices made in the process of writing, and the attitudes taken, considering the theme of happiness. Doing so, a significant discussion will be included regarding the paths of happiness, its agents, and the nature of the motifs and metaphors linked to the theme of happiness. The author will also address the dialectical role of the happiness theme in the constitution of an emerging literary discourse reflected in the French novel. By exploring the manifestation of the dogmas, ideas of the intellectual leaders of the 20th century （e.g., Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone De Beauvoir, Albert Camus） as well as the ones of the 21th century （e.g., Pascal Bruckner, Andr6 Comte-Sponville, Gilles Lipovetsky） new insights concerning the hybrid nature of the supposedly ＂authentic happiness＂ will be revealed. The author intend to inspect the theme of Happiness around four dialectical axes as a relevant ethical basis for delimiting the various fields of research： （1） Love, passion, and conjugality; （2） Ageing; （3） ＂The experience of everydayness＂; and （4） ＂The era of emptiness＂. Focusing on the narratives, the article takes into account their specificity in the four distinct fields, all connected to existential and ethical issues, Finally, this article will attempt to analyse the assumed role of literature as a conduit of cultural awareness.展开更多
The first part of the paper shows that in American and European academia, the field of intellectual history has continued to neglect the world outside of the West. The reasons for this Eurocentric bias are related to ...The first part of the paper shows that in American and European academia, the field of intellectual history has continued to neglect the world outside of the West. The reasons for this Eurocentric bias are related to lasting hierarchies in the global landscape of historiography. To put it bluntly, Western scholars can afford to ignore historical approaches from other parts of the world, while the opposite is not the case. Whereas fields like subaltern studies have pointed at such problems, these hierarchies （and their historical roots ） have thus far hardly been considered in the debate about the future of intellectual history. In the second part, the paper outlines some important research agendas for the field of global intellectual history. For example, it argues that the transnational spread（ and local adaptation） of Eurocentric ideas since the 19th century remains insufficiently understood. The same is true for the changing facets of international hierarchies of knowledge, which have continued to influence historical scholarship around the world up until the present day.展开更多
文摘Happiness, as much a poetic as a philosophical, sociological, and psychological concept, has been, through the ages, at the heart of the needs each individual seeks to fulfil. But today, in a world dominated by technology, driven by productivity and dictated by efficiency, what about Happiness？ Does it feature in works of fiction in any significant way？ May it not have adopted different guises？ ls that ＂duty of happiness＂ that Pascal Bruckner was talking about present in the French novel of the 20th-21th centuries？ And if it is, has its force strengthened or weakened？ This article will discuss the French Novels （of the 20th-21th centuries） that are devoted to or associated with Happiness in a direct or indirect manner. It will contextualize and analyze the transformation of Happiness, within the context of the historical and social events that influenced that period： the Holocaust, consumerism, postmodernism, structural social changes, the various as yet unarticulated new modes of life they created, and so on. To that end, this article will explore the discursive philosophical concept of happiness and its influence on the formation of the French novel. In so doing it will focus on the explicit discourse behind the motifs, the choices made in the process of writing, and the attitudes taken, considering the theme of happiness. Doing so, a significant discussion will be included regarding the paths of happiness, its agents, and the nature of the motifs and metaphors linked to the theme of happiness. The author will also address the dialectical role of the happiness theme in the constitution of an emerging literary discourse reflected in the French novel. By exploring the manifestation of the dogmas, ideas of the intellectual leaders of the 20th century （e.g., Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone De Beauvoir, Albert Camus） as well as the ones of the 21th century （e.g., Pascal Bruckner, Andr6 Comte-Sponville, Gilles Lipovetsky） new insights concerning the hybrid nature of the supposedly ＂authentic happiness＂ will be revealed. The author intend to inspect the theme of Happiness around four dialectical axes as a relevant ethical basis for delimiting the various fields of research： （1） Love, passion, and conjugality; （2） Ageing; （3） ＂The experience of everydayness＂; and （4） ＂The era of emptiness＂. Focusing on the narratives, the article takes into account their specificity in the four distinct fields, all connected to existential and ethical issues, Finally, this article will attempt to analyse the assumed role of literature as a conduit of cultural awareness.
文摘The first part of the paper shows that in American and European academia, the field of intellectual history has continued to neglect the world outside of the West. The reasons for this Eurocentric bias are related to lasting hierarchies in the global landscape of historiography. To put it bluntly, Western scholars can afford to ignore historical approaches from other parts of the world, while the opposite is not the case. Whereas fields like subaltern studies have pointed at such problems, these hierarchies （and their historical roots ） have thus far hardly been considered in the debate about the future of intellectual history. In the second part, the paper outlines some important research agendas for the field of global intellectual history. For example, it argues that the transnational spread（ and local adaptation） of Eurocentric ideas since the 19th century remains insufficiently understood. The same is true for the changing facets of international hierarchies of knowledge, which have continued to influence historical scholarship around the world up until the present day.
