Respectable Folly: Millenarians and the French Revolution in France and England (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 105 mysteries, for example, is shown not to create tension within his philosophical system, whereas his treatment of conversiq0~ and grace does result in such tension. Chapter 10 concludes Despland's analysis of Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone. It is noted that for Kant true religion arises only from a synthesis of rational faith and historical faith. Chapter 11 concludes Part 2 of the book. The Kantian philosophy of religion is represented as an extension (and further development) of the Kantian philosophy of history: when political progress of the human race within history is combined with moral progress of individual humans within God's realm the resulting synthesis is progress toward divine redemption of all humanity. The book concludes with the author's translation of the short treatise On the Failure of All Attempted Philosophical Theodices (1791). This treatise represents a crucial point of departure for the development of Kant's doctrine of evil away from an optimistic (and common eighteenth-century Enlightenment) view of evil as a mere negation and as an instrument used to bring about progress in the direction of the good toward a pessimistic view of Evil as a real force that cannot be explained away. On many counts the book is very good. Despland's treatment successfully places both Kant's philosophy of history and Kant's philosophy of religion within the context of Kant's philosophical system and draws well-formulated connections between them and the three critiques. The author is well read in the relevant secondary literature: testimony from various Kant scholars is well integrated into the text in such a manner that it does not hinder the flow of the author's argumentation but rather adds to and facilitates it. Relevant aspects of Kant's life, character, and education are sometimes used to help make important points. Kant's writings on history and religion are carefully placed within the general context of eighteenthcentury intellectual history, and his philosophy of religion is seen in the context of the history of Western philosophy of religion. Aside from some very minor points, the following criticisms should be mentioned. The manner in which Kant's philosophy of history ties together with his philosophy of religion could have been more clearly and exhaustively discussed at the end of Part 2, for at that point one has lost sight of some of the results of Part 1. Both parts of the book are written well, although the first is organized better and is presented more clearly than the second. These criticisms, however, should not impair the evaluation of this as being a very good book. It is well written and well argued; Despland's main points regarding Kant's views on history and religion are quite important. The book constitutes a significant contribution to Kant scholarship. JOSEPH S. FREEDMAN Mainz, West Germany Clarke Garrett. Respectable Folly: Millenarians and the French Revolution in France and England. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975. Pp. x + 237. Garrett begins his study with a very interesting essay on the kinds of millenarian research going on and on the major interpretations being made of the material. "Millenarianism and the French Revolution is a largely unexplored area for historians, and this study is only a beginning of what needs to be done" (p. 11).As a beginning Garrett tries to cover the millenarian activities in France of Suzette Labrousse, Catherine Th6ot, the international mystical group at Avignon, and the mad prophetic activities of Richard Brothers and Joanna Southcutt in England . As Garrett points out in his introductions to both the French and English materials, there were millenial traditions going back into the Middle Ages and maintained and developed by some of the leading theologians. The heirs to these traditions, such as the abb~ Henri Gr6goire in France and Joseph Priestley in England, were not mad. They interpreted the events unfolding around them-the French Revolution, the English response, and the rise of 106 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY Napoleon--in terms of their millennialcategories. In contrast to the people focused on in this study, there was little sign of folly, respectable or otherwise, in Gr6goire or Priestley, among many...