The Artificial Self

Download or read book The Artificial Self written by Hilary Nias and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-02 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book reassesses Taine as the very model of the European intellectual in the second half of the 19th century. The author draws on unpublished manuscripts and letters to reveal a self-disguised, tentative and ironic mentality very like the one Taine described in his psychological writings. These qualities are reflected not only in his own ludic response to his times, but in that of many fellow Second Empire intellectuals. Darwinian evolution, new scientific discoveries, ""la Critique"" and Impressionism all made a profound impact on Taine's thinking and on his contribution to the moral revival and Nationalism of the Third Republic."