PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL PASSIONS IN THE WORK OF GERMAINE DE STAËL

Authors

  • Eveline Groot ESPhil, Erasmus University Rotterdam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21814/eps.4.1.193

Keywords:

De Staël, French Revolution, public opinion, liberalism, passions

Abstract

In this paper, I investigate the role of public opinion and De Staël’s liberal principles in relation to her psychological image of human nature. De Staël regarded the French Revolution as a new stage of human progress, in which the French people, for the first time, gained a political voice. From her position as a liberal republican, De Staël argues for political progress in the form of civil equality and liberty confirmed by law and political representation, for which public opinion serves as a political tool. I aim to demonstrate that De Staël developed a multi-layered analysis of public opinion as both an emancipatory tool for more equality, justice, and liberty, as well as a discriminating and harmful tool. According to De Staël, human passions play a crucial role in determining the employment and the effects of public opinion, as becomes clear in the case of the trial of Marie-Antoinette.

References

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Published

30-09-2023

How to Cite

Groot, E. . (2023). PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL PASSIONS IN THE WORK OF GERMAINE DE STAËL. Ethics, Politics & Society, 4, 126–152. https://doi.org/10.21814/eps.4.1.193

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Section

5th BRAGA COLLOQUIUM IN THE HISTORY OF MORAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY