Ensemblance: The Transnational Genealogy of Esprit de Corps

by Luis de Miranda

Esprit de corps has played a significant role in the cultural and political history of the last 300 years. Through several historical case studies, Luis de Miranda shows how this phrase acts as a combat concept with a clear societal impact. He also reveals how interconnected, yet distinct, French, English and American modern intellectual and political thought is. In the end, this is a cautionary analysis of past and current ideologies of ultra-unified human ensembles, a recurrent historical and theoretical fabulation the author calls ‘ensemblance’.

296 pages, Hardcover

Published February 28, 2020

About the author

Luis de Miranda, (born 1971) is a philosopher and novelist. Born in Portugal, he grew up and has lived most of his life in Paris. He began travelling the world alone at the age of sixteen including Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States where he lived for two years. While living in New York, he wrote his first novel, Joy (Joie).

Reviews

[Max Marsellos · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It is common knowledge that in his “rêveries” Rousseau connects happiness with the Heraclitean feeling of peace generated by the lone contemplation of our natural being, generally favoured by promenades on islands, rivers and other entities that cannot talk back. How this sentiment can be felt in a human community is a profound mystery for a modern individual.”

This is question that Luis de Miranda tries to answer through his book “Ensemblance”. He studies how groups of people have formed and called themselves, how the group can feel peace with each other and share a common goal. It is this “esprit de corps” that emerges, very actual in today’s radical individualism. More than a genealogical study, the study of esprit de
corps is about human belonging.