Conversation: A History of a Declining ArtEssayist Stephen Miller pursues a lifelong interest in conversation by taking an historical and philosophical view of the subject. He chronicles the art of conversation in Western civilization from its beginnings in ancient Greece to its apex in eighteenth-century Britain to its current endangered state in America. As Harry G. Frankfurt brought wide attention to the art of bullshit in his recent bestselling On Bullshit, so Miller now brings the art of conversation into the light, revealing why good conversation matters and why it is in decline. Miller explores the conversation about conversation among such great writers as Cicero, Montaigne, Swift, Defoe, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and Virginia Woolf. He focuses on the world of British coffeehouses and clubs in “The Age of Conversation” and examines how this era ended. Turning his attention to the United States, the author traces a prolonged decline in the theory and practice of conversation from Benjamin Franklin through Hemingway to Dick Cheney. He cites our technology (iPods, cell phones, and video games) and our insistence on unguarded forthrightness as well as our fear of being judgmental as powerful forces that are likely to diminish the art of conversation. |
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Contents
From the BookofJob to Platos | |
Religion Commerce | |
EighteenthCentury Britain | |
From Raillery toReverie SEVEN Conversation in America From Benjamin Franklin to Dale | |
From Countercultural | |
NINE The WaysWe DontConverse | |
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Common terms and phrases
According Addison admired agree American andthe anger argues asked attacked attended avoidance became become Boswell Britain called century character civil clubs Coffee coffeehouses common continually conversationalist conversible world critic culture describes dinner discussion disliked effect eighteenthcentury England English enjoyed especially essays feel Franklin French frequently friends fuck going guests human Hume humor ideas implies important improve Instant Messaging intellectual interest inthe James Johnson Lady Mary leading learned letter listener literary living London mainly manners means meet mind Nature never observers occasionally ofthe opinion party passions person play pleasures poem political popular praised promotes published question reason refers remark Rousseau salon says social society Socrates solitude sounds speaks Spectator sublime suffering Swift talk television thing thought tobe tothe wants Washington women Woolf writers wrote York young
Bibliographic information
| Title | Conversation: A History of a Declining Art |
| Author | Stephen Miller |
| Edition | unabridged |
| Publisher | Yale University Press, 2008 |
| ISBN | 030013018X, 9780300130188 |
| Length | 368 pages |
| Subjects | › History / Essays |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |