In Behalf P. N. Furbank argues that in thinking about society and politics, one needs to start from the proposition that every human being contains within himself or herself the entire potentiality of the human species and that it is therefore wrong to regard cultural differences as innate. ø This conclusion, in turn, raises doubts about the concept of pluralism as propounded by political philosophers such as Isaiah Berlin. According to Berlin, societies incarnate sets of values that, while good in themselves, might be incommensurable or incompatible with those of other societies. As Furbank shows, however, the epithets ?incommensurable? and ?incompatible? fall to pieces under scrutiny. Furthermore, the tacit implication that pluralism is a political concept, rivaling democracy, appears to be an illusion. ø Furbank proceeds to consider the question of what it means to act ?on behalf? of others. He notes that the apparent strength of ?politics of the person??the ground of feminist, black, and gay politics, with its insistence that everyone should speak with his or her own distinctive voice, unmediated by representation or action on behalf of others?is its freedom from the taint of philanthropy. But he argues that this freedom comes at a high price, which is no less than that of involving the term ?politics? in self-contradiction. He concludes that there is seemingly no substitute for what one might call ?politics proper? and that this form of politics is by nature on behalf of someone or something not itself?a politics that is, incurably, philanthropic, and, being so, is exposed to all the snares and temptations with which philanthropy is plagued.
The publication of the 44-volume Works of Daniel Defoe continues with this collection of Defoe's satirical poetry and fantasy writings, and writings on the supernatural.
This collection of Daniel Defoe's travel and historical writings reveal the range of his intellectual interests. His "Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain", which came out between 1724 and 1726, drew on Defoe's travels throughout England and Scotland - often as a political agent and spy.
Furbank and Owens's Critical Bibliography completes their project to reform the Defoe canon. It lists the works which they consider as certainly or probably by Defoe, clearly distinguishing these two categories.
Includes ten volumes, which are suitable for Defoe scholars and academics of eighteenth-century history, religion and literature. This set offers readers texts and a wealth of editorial matter, including introductions, explanatory notes and a consolidated index to the ten volumes.
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