Jeffrey D. Burson is professor of French history at Georgia Southern University. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including The Rise and Fall of Theological Enlightenment: Jean-Martin de Prades and Ideological Polarization in Eighteenth-Century France (2010), and Enlightenment and Catholicism in Europe: A Transnational History, co-edited with Ulrich L. Lehner (2014), both published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I. The Culture of Enlightening en Sorbonne and the Formation of Claude YvonInto the Mid-Century Maelstrom: Claude Yvon between Sorbonne and the EncyclopédistesThe Encyclopédie and the Polarization of Enlightening Culture in France Part 2.Yvon the Encyclopédiste I: Metphysics, Logic, and the History of PhilosophyYvon the Encyclopédiste II: Immortality, Immateriality, and an Abbé's Dalliance with Vitalistic MaterialismYvon the Encyclopédiste III: Moral Philosophy, Practical Theology, and the Problem of Evil Part 3.Yvon in Exile, 1752-1762The Return from Exile, c. 1762-1768The Quest to Harmonize Philosophy and Religion: The First Attempt, 1762-1768Out of the Ashes?: Yvon at Château d'Ormes, c. 1771-1774From Yvon's Last Stand before the General Assembly of the Clergy to His Last Days, c. 1770-1789Yvon Post-Mortem: Concluding Reflections on the Cultural and Theological Revolution of EnlighteningList of AbbreviationsNotesBibliography

"The Culture of Enlightening does nothing less than offer a new vision of the Enlightenment, one that is less about portioning off the intellectual movement into distinct, reified groups and more about a shared, common culture of borrowing and mutually constructive debates." —Journal of Jesuit Studies"Jeffrey Burson's thorough study of the obscure, sometimes ridiculed, Abbé Claude Yvon provides a compelling vehicle for examining the 'culture of enlightening.' Through meticulous research and erudite analysis, Burson examines Yvon's lengthy and eclectic body of work to illustrate that the Enlightenment was neither monolithic nor a series of discrete movements. This book emphasizes the Enlightenment as a process in which different modes of thought intersected with one another, sometimes in conflicting and contradictory ways. Through this impressive case study in which we see the interaction between individuals and ideas, Burson provides the outlines of a 'cultural revolution,' defined by ideas, interactions, interventions, and contingency." —Mita Choudhury, Vassar College"This is a splendidly researched book that sheds light on the life of an overlooked yet fascinating figure of the Enlightenment and makes a crucial contribution to Enlightenment scholarship. The author does a great job situating the Abbé Yvon's life in the context of eighteenth-century intellectual culture and showing how the complex and even contradictory elements of his thought were representative of broader trends." —Anton M. Matytsin, Kenyon College"This is one of the most vital recent scholarly books to be written on the culture of the French learned world during the period of the 'Enlightenment.' With the rise of interest in Catholic responses to the lumières, this work focuses astutely and with bright focus on the 'entangling' of Catholic theologians and savants, on the one hand, and secular Enlightenment thinkers, on the other. . . . A remarkable, erudite, compelling, and major study, reconceptualizing much of 'Enlightenment' studies, and it will change the ways in which unbiased readers approach the eighteenth century." —Alan Charles Kors, Henry Charles Lea Professor Emeritus of History, University of Pennsylvania

Jeffrey D. Burson is professor of French history at Georgia Southern University. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including The Rise and Fall of Theological Enlightenment: Jean-Martin de Prades and Ideological Polarization in Eighteenth-Century France (2010), and Enlightenment and Catholicism in Europe: A Transnational History, co-edited with Ulrich L. Lehner (2014), both published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I. The Culture of Enlightening en Sorbonne and the Formation of Claude YvonInto the Mid-Century Maelstrom: Claude Yvon between Sorbonne and the EncyclopédistesThe Encyclopédie and the Polarization of Enlightening Culture in France Part 2.Yvon the Encyclopédiste I: Metphysics, Logic, and the History of PhilosophyYvon the Encyclopédiste II: Immortality, Immateriality, and an Abbé's Dalliance with Vitalistic MaterialismYvon the Encyclopédiste III: Moral Philosophy, Practical Theology, and the Problem of Evil Part 3.Yvon in Exile, 1752-1762The Return from Exile, c. 1762-1768The Quest to Harmonize Philosophy and Religion: The First Attempt, 1762-1768Out of the Ashes?: Yvon at Château d'Ormes, c. 1771-1774From Yvon's Last Stand before the General Assembly of the Clergy to His Last Days, c. 1770-1789Yvon Post-Mortem: Concluding Reflections on the Cultural and Theological Revolution of EnlighteningList of AbbreviationsNotesBibliography

"The Culture of Enlightening does nothing less than offer a new vision of the Enlightenment, one that is less about portioning off the intellectual movement into distinct, reified groups and more about a shared, common culture of borrowing and mutually constructive debates." —Journal of Jesuit Studies"Jeffrey Burson's thorough study of the obscure, sometimes ridiculed, Abbé Claude Yvon provides a compelling vehicle for examining the 'culture of enlightening.' Through meticulous research and erudite analysis, Burson examines Yvon's lengthy and eclectic body of work to illustrate that the Enlightenment was neither monolithic nor a series of discrete movements. This book emphasizes the Enlightenment as a process in which different modes of thought intersected with one another, sometimes in conflicting and contradictory ways. Through this impressive case study in which we see the interaction between individuals and ideas, Burson provides the outlines of a 'cultural revolution,' defined by ideas, interactions, interventions, and contingency." —Mita Choudhury, Vassar College"This is a splendidly researched book that sheds light on the life of an overlooked yet fascinating figure of the Enlightenment and makes a crucial contribution to Enlightenment scholarship. The author does a great job situating the Abbé Yvon's life in the context of eighteenth-century intellectual culture and showing how the complex and even contradictory elements of his thought were representative of broader trends." —Anton M. Matytsin, Kenyon College"This is one of the most vital recent scholarly books to be written on the culture of the French learned world during the period of the 'Enlightenment.' With the rise of interest in Catholic responses to the lumières, this work focuses astutely and with bright focus on the 'entangling' of Catholic theologians and savants, on the one hand, and secular Enlightenment thinkers, on the other. . . . A remarkable, erudite, compelling, and major study, reconceptualizing much of 'Enlightenment' studies, and it will change the ways in which unbiased readers approach the eighteenth century." —Alan Charles Kors, Henry Charles Lea Professor Emeritus of History, University of Pennsylvania

Jeffrey D. Burson is professor of French history at Georgia Southern University. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including The Rise and Fall of Theological Enlightenment: Jean-Martin de Prades and Ideological Polarization in Eighteenth-Century France (2010), and Enlightenment and Catholicism in Europe: A Transnational History, co-edited with Ulrich L. Lehner (2014), both published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I. The Culture of Enlightening en Sorbonne and the Formation of Claude YvonInto the Mid-Century Maelstrom: Claude Yvon between Sorbonne and the EncyclopédistesThe Encyclopédie and the Polarization of Enlightening Culture in France Part 2.Yvon the Encyclopédiste I: Metphysics, Logic, and the History of PhilosophyYvon the Encyclopédiste II: Immortality, Immateriality, and an Abbé's Dalliance with Vitalistic MaterialismYvon the Encyclopédiste III: Moral Philosophy, Practical Theology, and the Problem of Evil Part 3.Yvon in Exile, 1752-1762The Return from Exile, c. 1762-1768The Quest to Harmonize Philosophy and Religion: The First Attempt, 1762-1768Out of the Ashes?: Yvon at Château d'Ormes, c. 1771-1774From Yvon's Last Stand before the General Assembly of the Clergy to His Last Days, c. 1770-1789Yvon Post-Mortem: Concluding Reflections on the Cultural and Theological Revolution of EnlighteningList of AbbreviationsNotesBibliography

"The Culture of Enlightening does nothing less than offer a new vision of the Enlightenment, one that is less about portioning off the intellectual movement into distinct, reified groups and more about a shared, common culture of borrowing and mutually constructive debates." —Journal of Jesuit Studies"Jeffrey Burson's thorough study of the obscure, sometimes ridiculed, Abbé Claude Yvon provides a compelling vehicle for examining the 'culture of enlightening.' Through meticulous research and erudite analysis, Burson examines Yvon's lengthy and eclectic body of work to illustrate that the Enlightenment was neither monolithic nor a series of discrete movements. This book emphasizes the Enlightenment as a process in which different modes of thought intersected with one another, sometimes in conflicting and contradictory ways. Through this impressive case study in which we see the interaction between individuals and ideas, Burson provides the outlines of a 'cultural revolution,' defined by ideas, interactions, interventions, and contingency." —Mita Choudhury, Vassar College"This is a splendidly researched book that sheds light on the life of an overlooked yet fascinating figure of the Enlightenment and makes a crucial contribution to Enlightenment scholarship. The author does a great job situating the Abbé Yvon's life in the context of eighteenth-century intellectual culture and showing how the complex and even contradictory elements of his thought were representative of broader trends." —Anton M. Matytsin, Kenyon College"This is one of the most vital recent scholarly books to be written on the culture of the French learned world during the period of the 'Enlightenment.' With the rise of interest in Catholic responses to the lumières, this work focuses astutely and with bright focus on the 'entangling' of Catholic theologians and savants, on the one hand, and secular Enlightenment thinkers, on the other. . . . A remarkable, erudite, compelling, and major study, reconceptualizing much of 'Enlightenment' studies, and it will change the ways in which unbiased readers approach the eighteenth century." —Alan Charles Kors, Henry Charles Lea Professor Emeritus of History, University of Pennsylvania