Early Modern Philosophy

Early Modern Philosophy
Author: Jonathan Head
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2024-10-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1350269565

For anyone in search of the philosophers who influenced one of the richest moments in Western intellectual history, this inclusive reader is the place to start. Early Modern Philosophy showcases an unrivalled range of thinkers. Through them, you are introduced to a selection of their texts that return important philosophical ideas and debates to our understanding of modern philosophy. Addressing a one-sided view of intellectual history that has persisted for centuries, this reader goes beyond the usual focus on rationalism and empiricism with readings organised into three parts: - Dualistic theories of human nature as the union of a mind and a body - Debates concerning social relations and education - The nature of reality and the way in which the mind reveals or constructs our understanding of the world The thematic approach puts women philosophers and understudied figures in direct conversation with canonical thinkers. Extracts from primary sources are accompanied by biographical details, questions for reflection, further reading and summaries that place philosophers in their historical contexts.

Thinking Matter

Thinking Matter
Author: John W. Yolton
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 1984-02-14
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0816660581

Thinking Matter was first published in 1984. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. This book, a reevaluation of a major issue in modern philosophy, explores the controversy that grew out of John Locke's suggestion, in the Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), that God could give to matter the power of thought. The concept of "thinking matter," as Locke's notion came to be described, offered a threat to those who held orthodox beliefs, especially to their views on the nature and immortality of the soul. In Thinking Matter,John Yolton traces this controversy from theologian Ralph Cudworth's 1678 manifesto, The True Intellectual System of the Universe: Wherein, All the Reason and Philosophy of Atheism is Confuted; and Its Impossibility Demonstrated — an attack on ancient versions of naturalism—down to the philosophical and scientific studies of Joseph Priestley in the late eighteenth century.

The Oxford Handbook of Leibniz

The Oxford Handbook of Leibniz
Author: Maria Rosa Antognazza
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 825
Release: 2018-10-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0190913630

The extraordinary breadth and depth of Leibniz's intellectual vision commands ever increasing attention. As more texts gradually emerge from seemingly bottomless archives, new facets of his contribution to an astonishing variety of fields come to light. This volume provides a uniquely comprehensive, systematic, and up-to-date appraisal of Leibniz's thought thematically organized around its diverse but interrelated aspects. Discussion of his philosophical system naturally takes place of pride. A cluster of original essays revisit his logic, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of nature, moral and political philosophy, and philosophy of religion. The scope of the volume, however, goes beyond that of a philosophical collection to embrace all the main features of Leibniz's thought and activity. Contributions are offered on Leibniz as a mathematician (including not only his calculus but also determinant theory, symmetric functions, the dyadic, the analysis situs, probability and statistics); on Leibniz as a scientist (physics and also optics, cosmology, geology, physiology, medicine, and chemistry); on his technical innovations (the calculating machine and the technology of mining, as well as other discoveries); on his work as an 'intelligencer' and cultural networker, as jurist, historian, editor of sources and librarian; on his views on Europe's political future, religious toleration, and ecclesiastical reunification; on his proposals for political, administrative, economic, and social reform. In so doing, the volume serves as a unique cross-disciplinary point of contact for the many domains to which Leibniz contributed. By assembling leading specialists on all these topics, it offers the most rounded picture of Leibniz's endeavors currently available.

Anima Mundi: The Rise of the World Soul Theory in Modern German Philosophy

Anima Mundi: The Rise of the World Soul Theory in Modern German Philosophy
Author: Miklós Vassányi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2010-11-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9048187966

This work presents and philosophically analyzes the early modern and modern history of the theory concerning the soul of the world, anima mundi. The initial question of the investigation is why there was a revival of this theory in the time of the early German Romanticism, whereas the concept of the anima mundi had been rejected in the earlier, classical period of European philosophy (early and mature Enlightenment). The presentation and analysis starts from the Leibnizian-Wolffian school, generally hostile to the theory, and covers classical eighteenth-century physico-theology, also reluctant to accept an anima mundi. Next, it discusses early modern and modern Christian philosophical Cabbala (Böhme and Ötinger), an intellectual tradition which to some extent tolerated the idea of a soul of the world. The philosophical relationship between Spinoza and Spinozism on the one hand, and the anima mundi theory on the other is also examined. An analysis of Giordano Bruno’s utilization of the concept anima del mondo is the last step before we give an account of how and why German Romanticism, especially Baader and Schelling asserted and applied the theory of the Weltseele. The purpose of the work is to prove that the philosophical insufficiency of a concept of God as an ens extramundanum instigated the Romantics to think an anima mundi that can act as a divine and quasi-infinite intermediary between God and Nature, as a locum tenens of God in physical reality.

The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence

The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence
Author: Samuel Clarke
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 1956
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780719006692

In 1715 the German philosopher Leibniz warned his friend the Princess of Wales of the dangers posed to religion by Newton's ideas. This book presents extracts from Leibniz's letters to Newtonian scientist Samuel Clarke.