Philosophy Begins in Wonder

by Deckard, Michael Funk; Losonczi, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780227173725
• ISBN10: 0227173724
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-09
• Publisher: James Clarke

Summary

Philosophy begins with wonder, according to Plato and Aristotle. Yet Plato and Aristotle did not expand a great deal on what precisely wonder is. Does this fact alone not raise curiosity in us as to why this passion or concept is important? What is wonder's role in science, philosophy, or theology except to end thinking or theorizing as soon as one begins? the primary purpose of this book is to show how seventeenth- and eighteenth-century developments in natural theology, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and The philosophy of science resulted in a complex history of the passion of wonder-a history in which the elements of continuation, criticism, and reformulation are equally present. Philosophy Begins in Wonder provides the first historical overview of wonder and changes the way we see early modern Europe. it is intended for readers who are curious-who wonder-about how modern philosophy and science were born. The book is for scholars and educated readers alike.

Author Biography

Michael Funk Deckard is Assistant Professor at Lenoir-Rhyne College in North Carolina. He has published articles and reviews in journals such as The Heythrop Journal; British Journal of Aesthetics; Bijdragen; International Journal in Philosophy and Theology; and Tijdschrift voor Filosofie. Pter Losonczi is an associate professor at the Department of Philosophy, University of West Hungary. His publications include three co-edited volumes, Reflecting Diversity; Religio Academici; and From Political Theory to Political Theology.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Abbreviations	p. xv
Introduction	p. xvii
Historical, Scientific, and Religious Contexts
Wonder and Wondering in the Renaissance	p. 1
Wonder, Magic, and Natural Philosophy: The Disenchantment Thesis Revisited	p. 43
Religious Awe at the Origin of Eighteenth	p. 72
Wonder in Seventeenth-Century Europe
Descartes on the Excellent Use of Admiration	p. 107
Admiration, Fear, and Infinity in Pascal's Thinking	p. 119
On Thomas Hobbes's Concept of Wonder	p. 127
"Straight toward Heaven": Natural Theology and Politics in Milton's Paradise Lost-Veronika Szántó	p. 143
Malebranche on Restlessness and Curiosity	p. 158
Wonder in the Age of the Saeculum: Spinoza	p. 175
Wonder in Eighteenth-Century Europe
Berkeley's Wonderful Divine Language: Apology and Biblical Realism	p. 190
"Of Curiosity, or the Love of Truth": David Hume on Wonder in A Treatise of Human Nature	p. 211
A Risk of Testimony: Astonishment and the Sublime	p. 234
Two Sources of Wonder in Early Modern Judaism	p. 261
Kant and the End of Wonder	p. 285
Ways of Wondering: Beyond the Barbarism of Reflection	p. 310
List of Contributors	p. 349
Index of Authors	p. 353
Index of Subjects	p. 359
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