{"product_id":"9780813931517","title":"The Limits of Optimism: Thomas Jefferson's Dualistic Enlightenment","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Limits of Optimism\u003c\/i\u003e works to dispel persistent notions about Jefferson’s allegedly paradoxical and sphinx-like quality. Maurizio Valsania shows that Jefferson’s multifaceted character and personality are to a large extent the logical outcome of an anti-metaphysical, enlightened, and humility-oriented approach to reality. That Jefferson’s mind and priorities changed over time and in response to changing circumstances indicates neither incoherence, hypocrisy, nor pathology.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eValsania’s reading of Jefferson, the Enlightenment, and negativity helps to make sense of the many paradoxes typically associated with that eighteenth-century thinker. At the same time, it provides a corrective to the common though erroneous equation of Enlightenment thinking with rationalism and shallow optimism.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Virginia Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47128534581488,"sku":"9780813931517","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780813931517_p0.jpg?v=1763746054","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780813931517","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}