I the Modernization of Honor in Eighteenth-Century Political Theory
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The Modernization of Honor in Eighteenth-Century Political Theory by Antong Liu Department of Political Science Duke University Date: _________________ Approved: ___________________________ Ruth W. Grant, Supervisor ___________________________ Michael A. Gillespie ___________________________ Alexander S. Kirshner ___________________________ Sharon R. Krause Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 i v ABSTRACT The Modernization of Honor in Eighteenth-Century Political Theory by Antong Liu Department of Political Science Duke University Date: _________________ Approved: ___________________________ Ruth W. Grant, Supervisor ___________________________ Michael A. Gillespie ___________________________ Alexander S. Kirshner ___________________________ Sharon R. Krause An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 Copyright by Antong Liu 2019 Abstract In this dissertation, I investigate the efforts in eighteenth-century political theory to modernize the sense of honor. Contrary to the belief that influential thinkers of this century—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, and Immanuel Kant, in particular— deviate from the tradition of honor and transform honor from a public matter of defending one’s reputation against disrespect and injustice into a private matter of maintaining one’s integrity, I argue that they not only faithfully inherit the medieval legacy of chivalric honor passed down to them via Thomas Hobbes, Bernard Mandeville, and Montesquieu, but also significantly democratize and secularize it and improve its compatibility with the modern state characterized by equal citizenship, centralized government, and the rule of law. Honor is understood as a uniquely structured motivation, which combines an individual’s sensitivity to and independence from social opinion into an integral whole. In modernizing honor, eighteenth-century thinkers attempt to preserve it as a political motivation for modern individuals to balance their spirits of resistance and law-abidingness so as to stand up to injustice without themselves becoming unjust in the process. Thus, honor can help liberal- democratic citizens today to fulfill their civic responsibility. iv For my parents, who support my aspirations to lead an honorable life v Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Chronology and Abbreviations (Selected) ............................................................................... ix Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................ x 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Preface ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Honor and Its Problems ................................................................................................... 3 1.3 The Plan of the Dissertation .......................................................................................... 13 1.4 Medieval Chivalric Honor and Its Legacy .................................................................. 22 2. Prelude to the Modernization of Honor: Hobbes, Mandeville, and Montesquieu ....... 35 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 35 2.2 Hobbes and the Dictation of Honor ............................................................................. 37 2.3 Mandeville and the Manipulation of Honor .............................................................. 47 2.4 Montesquieu and the Market of Honor ...................................................................... 55 2.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 68 3. Rousseauean Honor in the Face of Disrespect .................................................................... 70 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 70 3.2 Honor and Glory ............................................................................................................ 72 3.3 Rousseau’s Reform of Honor and His Motive ........................................................... 75 3.4 Rousseauean Politics and the Prevalence of Disrespect ........................................... 85 3.5 Emile and the Nature of Rousseauean Honor ............................................................ 91 vi 3.6 Honor and Principled Response to Disrespect .......................................................... 99 3.7 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 105 4. Resentment and Praiseworthiness in Adam Smith’s Honor Ethics .............................. 108 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 108 4.2 Smithian Politics and His Reluctant Rejection of Civic Virtue .............................. 110 4.3 Self-Command, Self-Estimation, and Resentment ................................................... 116 4.3.1 Justice and Resentment ........................................................................................... 116 4.3.2 The Strength and Weakness of Self-Command .................................................. 118 4.3.3 The Strength and Weakness of Self-Estimation .................................................. 123 4.4 Praise, Praiseworthiness, and Virtue ......................................................................... 127 4.5 The Love of Praiseworthiness and Smith’s Honor Ethics ...................................... 133 4.6 Taming Resentment with Honor ................................................................................ 141 4.7 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 148 5. “The Constant Companion of Virtue”: Kantian Honor and Its Political Implications 151 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 151 5.2 Kantian Politics and the Difficulties in Punishing Disrespect ............................... 156 5.3 Two Concepts of Honor and Their Dilemma ........................................................... 163 5.3.1 Ethical Honor ........................................................................................................... 164 5.3.2 Aesthetic Honor ....................................................................................................... 168 5.3.3 Social Opinion and the Dilemma of Honor ......................................................... 174 5.4 The Kantian Reform of Honor .................................................................................... 176 5.4.1 Critiques of Existing Solutions to the Dilemma of Honor ................................. 176 vii 5.4.2 The Kantian Reform of Honor ............................................................................... 180 5.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 186 6. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 189 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 195 Biography ................................................................................................................................... 207 viii Chronology and Abbreviations (Selected) 1640 [1650] Hobbes: The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic (EL) 1642 [1651] Hobbes: De Cive 1651 Hobbes: Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common-Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil (Leviathan) 1714 Mandeville: The Fable of the Bees: Or, Private Vices, Publick Benefits (FB) 1725 Mandeville: An Enquiry into the Origin of Honour and the Usefulness of Christianity in War (EOH) 1748 Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws (SL) 1754 [1755] Rousseau: Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men (Second Discourse) (SD) 1758 Rousseau: Letter to M. D’Alembert on the Theatre (D’Alembert) 1759 Smith: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) 1762 Rousseau: Emile, or On Education (Emile) 1764 Kant: Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime (Observations) 1783 Rousseau: Emile and Sophie, or The Solitaries (EAS) 1790 Smith: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (Sixth Edition) (TMS) 1797 Kant: The Metaphysics of Morals (MM) * Years in square brackets are the years of actual publication. ix Acknowledgments This dissertation, like most achievements in my life so far, is impossible without the help of others. First and foremost, my gratitude to my supervisor, Ruth Grant, who has encouraged and helped me to pursue my academic passion since my