Radical Enlightenment

Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750

Nonfiction, History, Western Europe, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book Radical Enlightenment by Professor Jonathan I. Israel, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Professor Jonathan I. Israel ISBN: 9780191622878
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: July 18, 2002
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Professor Jonathan I. Israel
ISBN: 9780191622878
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: July 18, 2002
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Arguably the most decisive shift in the history of ideas in modern times was the complete demolition during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries - in the wake of the Scientific Revolution - of traditional structures of authority, scientific thought, and belief by the new philosophy and the philosophes, culminating in Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau. In this revolutionary process which effectively overthrew all justicfication for monarchy, aristocracy, and ecclesiastical power, as well as man's dominance over woman, theological dominance of education, and slavery, substituting the modern principles of equality, democracy, and universality, the Radical Enlightenment played a crucially important part. Despite the present day interest in the revolutions of the late eighteenth century, the origins and rise of the Radical Enlightenment have been astonishingly little studied doubtless largely because of its very wide international sweep and the obvious difficulty of fitting in into the restrictive conventions of 'national history' which until recently tended to dominate all historiography. The greatest obstacle to the Radical Enlightenment finding its proper place in modern historical writing is simply that it was not French, British, German, Italian, Jewish or Dutch, but all of these at the same time. In this novel interpretation of the Radical Enlightenment down to La Mettie and Diderot, two of its key exponents, particular stress is placed on the pivotal role of Spinoza and the widespread underground international philosophical movement known before 1750 as Spinozism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Arguably the most decisive shift in the history of ideas in modern times was the complete demolition during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries - in the wake of the Scientific Revolution - of traditional structures of authority, scientific thought, and belief by the new philosophy and the philosophes, culminating in Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau. In this revolutionary process which effectively overthrew all justicfication for monarchy, aristocracy, and ecclesiastical power, as well as man's dominance over woman, theological dominance of education, and slavery, substituting the modern principles of equality, democracy, and universality, the Radical Enlightenment played a crucially important part. Despite the present day interest in the revolutions of the late eighteenth century, the origins and rise of the Radical Enlightenment have been astonishingly little studied doubtless largely because of its very wide international sweep and the obvious difficulty of fitting in into the restrictive conventions of 'national history' which until recently tended to dominate all historiography. The greatest obstacle to the Radical Enlightenment finding its proper place in modern historical writing is simply that it was not French, British, German, Italian, Jewish or Dutch, but all of these at the same time. In this novel interpretation of the Radical Enlightenment down to La Mettie and Diderot, two of its key exponents, particular stress is placed on the pivotal role of Spinoza and the widespread underground international philosophical movement known before 1750 as Spinozism.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book Slippery Slope by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book Psychosocial Issues in Palliative Care by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book Pentecostalism: A Very Short Introduction by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book Law and Gender by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book The Normative and the Evaluative by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book Nothing: A Very Short Introduction by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book The Evolution of Memory Systems by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book Persistence and Spacetime by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book British North America in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book Mathematical Underpinnings of Analytics by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book A Dictionary of English Folklore by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book Thinking Medieval Romance by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book International Development by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book A Dictionary of Human Resource Management by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
Cover of the book The Triumph of the Dark by Professor Jonathan I. Israel
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy