Enlightenment and Action from Descartes to Kant: Passionate Thought

by Michael Losonsky

• ISBN13: 9780521806121
• ISBN10: 0521806127
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-08-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Kant believed that true enlightenment is the use of reason freely in public. This book systematicaaly traces the philosophical origins and development of the idea that the improvement of human understanding requires public activity. Michael Losonsky focuses on seventeenth-century discussions of the problem of irresolution and the closely connected theme of the role of volition in human belief formation. This involves a discussion of the work of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Spinoza and Leibniz. Challenging the traditional views of seventeenth-century philosophy and written in a lucid, non-technical language, this book will be eagerly sought out by historians of philosophy and students of the history of ideas.

Author Biography

Michael Losonsky is professor of philosophy at Colorado State University

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
List of Abbreviations	xiii
Introduction: The Enlightened Mind	1	(11)
Descartes: Willful Thinking	12	(30)
Hobbes: Passionate Thinking	42	(30)
Locke: Uneasy Thinking	72	(33)
Enthusiasm: Inspired Thinking	105	(27)
Spinoza: Resolute Thinking	132	(26)
Leibniz: Trained Thinking	158	(27)
Conclusion: The Public Mind	185	(16)
Bibliography	201	(12)
Index	213