The Rise of Modern Philosophy A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 3

by Kenny, Anthony

• ISBN13: 9780198752769
• ISBN10: 0198752768
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Sir Anthony Kenny's engaging new multi-volume history of Western philosophy now advances into the modern era. The Rise of Modern Philosophy captures the fascinating story of the emergence, from the early sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, of the great ideas and intellectual systems that shaped modern thought. Kenny introduces us to some of the world's most original and influential thinkers and helps us gain an understanding of their famous works. The great minds we meet include Rene Descartes, traditionally seen as the founder of modern philosophy; the great British philosophers Hobbes, Locke, and Hume; continental thinkers such as Spinoza, Liebniz, and Hegel; and the towering figure of Immanuel Kant, who perhaps more than any other made philosophy what it is today. Kenny first tells the story of modern philosophy chronologically: his lively, accessible narrative brings the philosophers to life and fills in the historical and intellectual background to their work. It is ideal as the first thing to read for someone new to this wonderfully creative period. Kenny then backtracks to look closely at each of the main areas of philosophical exploration in this period: knowledge and understanding; the nature of the physical universe; metaphysics (the most fundamental questions there are about existence); mind and soul; the nature and content of morality; political philosophy; and God. The book also features many intriguing and beautiful illustrations which evoke the human and social side of philosophy. Anyone who is interested in the evolution of modern thought will find this a book a treasure.

Author Biography

Sir Anthony Kenny is one of Britain's most distinguished academic figures. He has been Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Master of Balliol College, Chairman of the Board of the British Library, and President of the British Academy. He has published more than forty books on philosophy and history.

Table of Contents

Map	p. x
Introduction	p. xi
Sixteenth-Century Philosophy	p. 1
Humanism and Reform	p. 1
Sin, Grace, and Freedom	p. 5
Authority and Conscience	p. 7
The Decline of Logic	p. 11
Scepticism, Sacred and Profane	p. 13
Counter-Reformation Philosophy	p. 16
Giordano Bruno	p. 20
Galileo	p. 22
Bacon	p. 26
Descartes to Berkeley	p. 33
Descartes	p. 33
Hobbes	p. 41
The Cambridge Platonists	p. 47
Locke	p. 49
Pascal	p. 53
Malebranche	p. 58
Spinoza	p. 61
Leibniz	p. 70
Berkeley	p. 76
Hume to Hegel	p. 80
Hume	p. 80
Smith and Reid	p. 86
The Enlightenment	p. 90
Rousseau	p. 93
Wolff and Lessing	p. 97
Kant	p. 100
Fichte and Schelling	p. 108
Hegel	p. 111
Knowledge	p. 117
Montaigne's Scepticism	p. 117
Descartes' Response	p. 119
Cartesian Consciousness	p. 121
The Empiricism of Hobbes	p. 127
Locke's Ideas	p. 131
Spinoza on Degrees of Knowledge	p. 137
The Epistemology of Leibniz	p. 142
Berkeley on Qualities and Ideas	p. 146
Hume on Ideas and Impressions	p. 151
Kant's Synthetic a priori	p. 156
Realism vs Idealism	p. 160
Idealist Epistemology	p. 163
Physics	p. 165
Natural Philosophy	p. 165
Cartesian Physics	p. 169
The Atomism of Gassendi	p. 172
Newton	p. 173
The Labyrinth of the Continuum	p. 174
Kant's Antinomies	p. 177
Metaphysics	p. 181
The Metaphysics of Suarez	p. 181
Descartes on Eternal Truths	p. 184
Three Notions of Substance	p. 187
Single Necessary Substance	p. 190
Making Room for Contingency	p. 193
Berkeley's Idealism	p. 199
Hume on Causation	p. 204
The Response of Kant	p. 207
Mind and Soul	p. 212
Descartes on Mind	p. 212
Dualism and its Discontents	p. 216
Determinism, Freedom, and Compatibilism	p. 219
Locke on Personal Identity	p. 223
The Soul as the Idea of the Body in Spinoza	p. 227
Leibniz's Monadology	p. 231
Berkeley and Hume on Spirits and Selves	p. 235
Kant's Anatomy of the Mind	p. 240
Ethics	p. 246
Casuistry	p. 247
Mysticism and Stoicism	p. 251
Pascal against the Jesuits	p. 253
Spinoza's Ethical System	p. 258
Hume on Reason, Passion, and Virtue	p. 261
Kant on Morality, Duty, and Law	p. 264
Hegel's Ethical Synthesis	p. 267
Political Philosophy	p. 273
Machiavelli's Prince	p. 273
More's Utopia	p. 275
Just and Unjust Wars	p. 281
Hobbes on Chaos and Sovereignty	p. 283
Spinoza's Political Determinism	p. 289
Locke on Civil Government	p. 290
Montesquieu on Law	p. 293
Rousseau and the General Will	p. 295
Hegel on the Nation-State	p. 300
God	p. 303
Molina on Omniscience and Freedom	p. 303
Descartes' Rational Theology	p. 305
Pascal and Spinoza on God	p. 308
The Optimism of Leibniz	p. 312
The God of Berkeley	p. 315
Hume on Religion	p. 317
Kant's Theological Dialectic	p. 323
The Absolute of Hegel	p. 329
Chronology	p. 332
List of Abbreviations and Conventions	p. 333
Bibliography	p. 337
List of Illustrations	p. 344
Index	p. 347
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