Entre a razão e as paixões: Mandeville, Bayle e a desconstrução da moralidade ilustrada

Abstract

This article analyzes Mandeville’s critique of 18th-century deism and moral rationalism, emphasizing his departure from the notion of an ethics grounded solely in reason. Beginning with the historical context of English deism — marked by the pursuit of natural religion and the defense of virtue independent of divine revelation — the text explores how Mandeville, influenced by Pierre Bayle, shifts the debate to the realm of human passions. Drawing on works such as Free Thoughts on Religion and The Fable of the Bees, the article seeks to demonstrate that, for Mandeville, hypocrisy is not a moral deviation but a structural mechanism that sustains social cohesion. Inspired by Bayle, who viewed vices as “necessary evils” for social order, Mandeville radicalizes this thesis by arguing that prosperity depends on channeling — rather than suppressing — passions. Finally, the text examines Mandeville’s critique of the clergy, exposing how the mise en scène of clerical austerity masks worldly interests and how religion, far from being a moral restraint, becomes an instrument of social control.