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

by Kenny, Anthony

• ISBN13: 9780198752776
• ISBN10: 0198752776
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-09-01
• 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	x
Introduction	xi
1. Sixteenth-Century Philosophy	1	(32)
Humanism and Reform	1	(4)
Sin, Grace, and Freedom	5	(2)
Authority and Conscience	7	(4)
The Decline of Logic	11	(2)
Scepticism, Sacred and Profane	13	(3)
Counter-Reformation Philosophy	16	(4)
Giordano Bruno	20	(2)
Galileo	22	(4)
Bacon	26	(7)
2. Descartes to Berkeley	33	(47)
Descartes	33	(8)
Hobbes	41	(6)
The Cambridge Platonists	47	(2)
Locke	49	(4)
Pascal	53	(5)
Malebranche	58	(3)
Spinoza	61	(9)
Leibniz	70	(6)
Berkeley	76	(4)
3. Hume to Hegel	80	(37)
Hume	80	(6)
Smith and Reid	86	(4)
The Enlightenment	90	(3)
Rousseau	93	(4)
Wolff and Lessing	97	(3)
Kant	100	(8)
Fichte and Schelling	108	(3)
Hegel	111	(6)
4. Knowledge	117	(48)
Montaigne's Scepticism	117	(2)
Descartes' Response	119	(2)
Cartesian Consciousness	121	(6)
The Empiricism of Hobbes	127	(4)
Locke's Ideas	131	(6)
Spinoza on Degrees of Knowledge	137	(5)
The Epistemology of Leihniz	142	(4)
Berkeley on Qualities and Ideas	146	(5)
Hume on Ideas and Impressions	151	(5)
Kant's Synthetic a priori	156	(4)
Realism vs Idealism	160	(3)
Idealist Epistemology	163	(2)
5. Physics	165	(16)
Natural Philosophy	165	(4)
Cartesian Physics	169	(3)
The Atomism of Gassendi	172	(1)
Newton	173	(1)
The Labyrinth of the Continuum	174	(3)
Kant's Antinomies	177	(4)
6. Metaphysics	181	(31)
The Metaphysics of Suarez	181	(3)
Descartes on Eternal Truths	184	(3)
Three Notions of Substance	187	(3)
Single Necessary Substance	190	(3)
Making Room for Contingency	193	(6)
Berkeley's Idealism	199	(5)
Hume on Causation	204	(3)
The Response of Kant	207	(5)
7. Mind and Soul	212	(34)
Descartes on Mind	212	(4)
Dualism and its Discontents	216	(3)
Determinism, Freedom, and Compatibilism	219	(4)
Locke on Personal Identity	223	(4)
The Soul as the Idea of the Body in Spinoza	227	(4)
Leibniz's Monadology	231	(4)
Berkeley and Hume on Spirits and Selves	235	(5)
Kant's Anatomy of the Mind	240	(6)
8. Ethics	246	(27)
Casuistry	247	(4)
Mysticism and Stoicism	251	(2)
Pascal against the Jesuits	253	(5)
Spinoza's Ethical System	258	(3)
Hume on Reason, Passion, and Virtue	261	(3)
Kant on Morality, Duty, and Law	264	(3)
Hegel's Ethical Synthesis	267	(6)
9. Political Philosophy	273	(30)
Machiavelli's Prince	273	(2)
More's Utopia	275	(6)
Just and Unjust Wars	281	(2)
Hobbes on Chaos and Sovereignty	283	(6)
Spinoza's Political Determinism	289	(1)
Locke on Civil Government	290	(3)
Montesquieu on Law	293	(2)
Rousseau and the General Will	295	(5)
Hegel on the Nation-State	300	(3)
10. God	303	(29)
Molina on Omniscience and Freedom	303	(2)
Descartes' Rational Theology	305	(3)
Pascal and Spinoza on God	308	(4)
The Optimism of Leibniz	312	(3)
The God of Berkeley	315	(2)
Hume on Religion	317	(6)
Kant's Theological Dialectic	323	(6)
The Absolute of Hegel	329	(3)
Chronology	332	(1)
List of Abbreviations and Conventions	333	(4)
Bibliography	337	(7)
List of Illustrations	344	(3)
Index	347