The seventeenth century saw a fundamental shift in our ways of thinking about ourselves and the universe. The reassuring medieval view of an earth-centred cosmos designed expressly for the benefit of mankind had been steadily eroded; yet at the same time there emerged a new optimism about the possibility of developing a clear and comprehensive account of the workings of the universe, together with a determination to penetrate the nature of the human mind and its relation to the material world. Against this background John Cottingham traces the attempts of the three great rationalist…mehr
The seventeenth century saw a fundamental shift in our ways of thinking about ourselves and the universe. The reassuring medieval view of an earth-centred cosmos designed expressly for the benefit of mankind had been steadily eroded; yet at the same time there emerged a new optimism about the possibility of developing a clear and comprehensive account of the workings of the universe, together with a determination to penetrate the nature of the human mind and its relation to the material world. Against this background John Cottingham traces the attempts of the three great rationalist philosophers - Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz - to come to terms with man's new role in nature and to devise new systems of philosophy that would provide a unified understanding of reality. He aims to show how closely their ideas are related, and analyses their ways of tackling such central issues as the relation between mind and body, the nature of substance, and the way to achieve a free and fulfilled Human life. He engages with their ideas in a vigorously critical way, and in so doing reveals their capacity to throw light on major philosophical topics which are still very much alive today.
John Cottingham is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Reading, Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London, and an Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. He has held visiting appointments in the United States (Fulbright Scholar) and New Zealand (Erskine Fellowship) and has served as Chairman of the British Society for the History of Philosophy, as President of the Mind Association, and as President of the Aristotelian Society. From 1993-2012 he was Editor of Ratio, the international journal of analytic philosophy. From 2007-9 he was President of the British Society for the Philosophy of Religion and is a life member of the Council of the Society.
Inhaltsangabe
1: Background 2: Method 3: Substance 4: Matter and Mind 5: Freedom and Morality Notes; Reference List; Index
