The Edinburgh Critical History of Early Modern and Enlightenment Philosophy - (Edinburgh Critical History of Philosophy) (Hardcover)

About the Book

Critical essays on topics and figures central to early modern and Enlightenment philosophy.

Book Synopsis

Written by a team of leading international scholars, this book examines a crucial period of philosophy from the perspective of themes and lines of thought that cut across authorial, disciplinary and national boundaries. Its fresh approach opens up new ways for specialists and students to conceptualise the history of early modern and Enlightenment thought within philosophy, politics, religious studies and literature.

This critical reference work takes a problem-based approach to the history of philosophy, highlighting the continued richness and relevance of sixteenth- to eighteenth-century philosophy. The five sections of the book explore: historiography and broader structures of thought in the period; the intersection of philosophy and politics; life and the metaphysics of bodies; theories of knowledge, with a special emphasis on social epistemology; and themes that stretch the boundaries of cognition (art, cosmology, the infinite and religion).

Review Quotes

Currently, the most fertile period of study in the history of philosophy is Early Modern Philosophy because scholars in the field have shown an eager excitement to broaden the canon and to study non-European figures. Scholars are looking at early modern thinkers to re-open debates about the reception and content of earlier ages, and to ask questions of the distinctions and assumptions taken for granted at our own fractured research-frontier. In the selection of their contributors, Howard & Stetter have done an excellent job at capturing the richness of these debates, and to nudge them to advance them in fresh directions.--Eric Schliesser, University of Amsterdam and Tulane University

The Edinburgh Critical History of Early Modern and Enlightenment Philosophy takes us into new terrain. It opens up, extends, and transcends the traditional canon of texts and historiographical paradigms. Whether it be slavery, the philosophy of race, the early history of women's rights, or alternatives to the tired historiographical categories we were once taught ... this volume, broad in sweep and refreshing in its contents, reassures us that the study of early modern philosophy is on the move and in competent hands.--Peter R. Anstey, Australian Catholic University

A truly impressive collection of studies of modern European philosophy, the Critical History of Early Modern and Enlightenment Philosophy is a substantial contribution to current scholarship and an excellent entry point for the general public.--Yitzhak Y. Melamed, Johns Hopkins University

Over the last years, the history of philosophy has changed rapidly, embracing new figures, new questions, and approaching texts old and new in novel ways. In this book, the editors have collected a series of essays written by the scholars who are leading the history of philosophy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in these exciting new directions. The past has never looked so fresh.--Daniel Garber, Princeton University