Human Intercourse

Philip Gilbert HamertonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 732K words
Chapters: 74

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Human Intercourse by Philip Gilbert HamertonAuthor: Hamerton, Philip Gilbert, 1834-1894,Language: English, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Jul 30, 2013

Editor's review

Human Intercourse is an essayistic work by Philip Gilbert Hamerton on human interaction, belonging to the category of ethics and social etiquette. Rather than starting from an abstract system, the author unfolds his discussion around everyday experience—conversation, getting along, tact, friendship, and self-restraint in social life—in prose that carries the ease and observational power of the nineteenth-century English essay. Its value lies in reducing "how to get along with others" to a reflectable art of living: it discusses expression and listening, closeness and boundaries. For today's readers, the specific etiquette is outdated, but the discussions of tact in speech and conduct, judging others, and self-presentation still offer points of reference. It suits slow reading as an essay collection, one or two chapters at a time, with notes taken against one's own experience of interaction; it can also be read against modern and contemporary works on interpersonal communication to see the differences of era and the enduring questions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century English essays and aphoristic argument
Readers interested in the ethics of human interaction and social tact
Mature readers who wish to read slowly and reflect on everyday getting along
Students and enthusiasts studying the tradition of etiquette and ethical essays

Not a good fit for

Readers who want an immediately usable handbook of communication scripts and techniques
Readers who prefer plot-driven narrative or light reading
Readers who expect conclusions from modern empirical psychology

Reading tips

Read slowly chapter by chapter, and after each chapter summarize in your own words the author's judgment on tact in interaction.
Keep a pen at hand and mark passages that resonate with contemporary social experience for comparison.
Read alternately with modern works on interpersonal communication to compare differences of era and enduring questions.
There is no need to finish it in one go; it suits bedside or commute reading as an essay collection.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book mainly about social techniques?

It is closer to essayistic observation of the ethics of interaction, discussing conversation, friendship, tact, and self-restraint rather than a step-by-step technique manual. Readers can gain a reflective framework, but should not expect communication methods to copy directly.

Does it have practical use for modern readers?

The specific etiquette is outdated, but the discussions of listening, boundaries, judging others, and self-presentation can still prompt reflection. Read with a comparative awareness, taking its questions rather than copying its conclusions.

Who is the author Hamerton, and do I need to know about him first?

Philip Gilbert Hamerton was a nineteenth-century English writer whose works include essays on art, culture, and life. You can read this book directly without knowing his biography; if you want to understand the style and the context of the era, read a brief introduction to the author first.

Is the English edition hard to read?

It is nineteenth-century prose, with longer sentences and more formal diction, but the themes are everyday and it is not overly difficult overall. Read short chapters closely; when you meet a long sentence, grasp the main clause first, then go back to the modifiers.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Philip Gilbert Hamerton Author · English · 1834–1894

Philip Gilbert Hamerton (1834–1894) was a British artist, art critic and writer, born near Oldham in Lancashire and died in France. He began as a painter before turning to art criticism, founded and edited the art journal The Portfolio, and wrote works including Etching and Etchers and The Intellectual Life, helping to advance the revival of etching in Britain. His writings span art criticism and discursive essays and also touch on human intercourse and regional life, as in Human Intercourse and Wenderholme: A Story of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The library holds four of his works; common classification information is currently unavailable, and public sources are limited, so biographical details are omitted here.