American historian Carl Lotus Becker (1873-1945) was a proponent of the doctrine of historical relativism. He is best known for his book "The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth Century Philosophers."Carl...
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Carl Becker was a historian of history as well as a historian of the United States, and his place in American history rests as much on his capacity to raise provocative questions about the nature of h...
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In the following essay, Lerner praises The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers but states that Becker's central argument in this work is weakened by his decision to ignore the ...
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In the following essay, McNeill presents a personal view of Becker as a teacher and historian.
Forty-four years have passed since I came here to study history under Carl Becker; and returning to le...
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In the following essay, Nelson sees Becker's irony as a response to the impossibility of entirely accepting or rejecting the idea of social progress.
Carl Becker's lifelong commitment...
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In his introduction to Freedom and Responsibility in the American Way of Life, Sabine notes that Becker consistently questioned democracy, aiming for an "idealism without illusions and a realis...
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In the following essay, Gottschalk argues that Freedom and Responsibility in the American Way of Life, Becker's final work, shows his lifelong cynicism to be tempered with optimism.
In sever...
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In the following essay, Smith shows Becker to have been a writer whose concerns were as much literary as they were historical and philosophical.
If it be said that politics has nothing to do with ...
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In the following essay, Bowen criticizes The Heavenly City for its assumption that contemporary philosophical fashions establish the final validity of beliefs of an earlier age.
Carl Becker'...
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In the following essay, Gershoy provides an overview of The Heavenly City in the context of Becker's earlier and later work, emphasizing Becker's strong belief in democracy.
Of all of...
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In the following essay, Gay concludes that Becker is ultimately unsuccessful in arguing his central points in The Heavenly City.
Carl Becker's The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Phi...
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In the following essay, Penick examines ideological inconsistencies and conflicts in Becker's works.
Ours is a culture which once placed a high premium on the ideal of spiritual unity. Autho...
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In the following essay, Klein discusses Becker's skepticism with respect to the possibility of arriving at an objective view of historical events.
Fifty-three years ago, Carl Becker delivere...
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