"Now and then," writes Lionel Triling "it is possible to observe the moral life in process of revising itself." In this new book he is concerned with such a mutation: the process by which the arduous enterprise of sincerity, of being true to one's self, came to occupy a place of supreme importance in the moral life--and the further shift which finds that place now usurped by the darker and still more strenuous modern ideal of authenticity. Instances range over the whole of Western literature and thought, from Shakespeare to Hegel to Sartre, from Robespierre to R.D. Laing, suggesting the contradictions and ironies to which the ideals of sincerity and authenticity give rise, most especially in contemporary life. Lucid, and brilliantly framed, its view of cultural history will give Sincerity and Authenticity an important place among the works of this distinguished critic.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
A beautifully written book, its tone admirably judged and perfectly sustained...It is wide fastidious and deeply thoughtful in its range of reference, Temperate, controlled and delicately scrupulous, it is a tribute if ever there was one to the "honest consciousness."
About the Author
At the time of his death in 1975, Lionel Trilling was University Professor at Columbia University.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Subtle, nuanced intellectual and literary history,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sincerity and Authenticity (Harvard Paperbacks) (Paperback)
This book, based on lectures he gave at Harvard in 1970, is delight. Trilling draws a fine but deep distinction between two conceptions of selfhood. Sincerity, or being true to yourself with an eye to being true to others, was the dominant concern of Renaissance and early modern thought and literature, from Shakespeare to Rousseau. Beginning with Wordsworth, gaining momentum throughout the 19th century, and finally emerging with full force in the 20th, though, there is a new, more morally demanding ideal of being what or who one is, apart from all external conditions. Trilling's discussion wanders about quite freely, but his observations about literature and ideas are always brilliant and refreshing. Highly recommended.
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shipped fast,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sincerity and Authenticity (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) (Hardcover)
great service. Thank you. would buy again. If you want a challenging read to boost the intellect, Lionel Trilling is yor man.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
NOW AND THEN IT IS POSSIBLE TO OBSERVE the moral life in process of revising itself, perhaps by reducing the emphasis it formerly placed upon one or another of its elements, perhaps by inventing and adding to itself a new element, some mode of conduct or of feeling which hitherto it had not regarded as essential to virtue. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
disintegrated consciousness, honest soul, psychic facts Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jane Austen, The Authentic Unconscious, Mansfield Park, Mme Sarraute, Matthew Arnold, Rameau's Nephew, New York, Madame Bovary, First Discourse, Henry James, Emma Bovary Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
NOW AND THEN IT IS POSSIBLE TO OBSERVE the moral life in process of revising itself, perhaps by reducing the emphasis it formerly placed upon one or another of its elements, perhaps by inventing and adding to itself a new element, some mode of conduct or of feeling which hitherto it had not regarded as essential to virtue. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
disintegrated consciousness, honest soul, psychic facts Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jane Austen, The Authentic Unconscious, Mansfield Park, Mme Sarraute, Matthew Arnold, Rameau's Nephew, New York, Madame Bovary, First Discourse, Henry James, Emma Bovary Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 92
books:
See all 92 books this book cites
100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud on 9 pages
- Mansfield Park by Jane Austen on 5 pages
- Mansfield Park (Classic Library) by Jame Austen on 5 pages
- Mansfield Park (Signet Classics) by Jane Austen on 5 pages
- English Traits by Ralph Waldo Emerson on 4 pages
See all 92 books this book cites
- The Beginning of Desire by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg on 6 pages
- The Future without a Past: The Humanities in a Technological Society by John Paul Russo on 5 pages
- Defining the Humanities: How Rediscovering a Tradition Can Improve Our Schools, Second Edition With a Curriculum for Today's Students by Robert E. Proctor on 4 pages
- Threads of Life: Autobiography and the Will by Richard Freadman on 4 pages
- Faking It by William Ian Miller in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
See all 100 books citing this book
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
|
|
