The rationalists
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The rationalists
（OPUS, . A History of Western philosophy ; 4）
Oxford University Press, 1988
- : hard
- : pbk
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The rationalists / John Cottingham
BB08813262
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The rationalists / John Cottingham
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Note
Bibliography: p. [226]-229
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: hard ISBN 9780192192097
Description
The 17th century saw a major revolution in our ways of thinking about such issues as the method appropriate to philosphy and science, the relation between mind and body, the nature of substance, and the place of man in nature. The author focuses mainly on the three great "rationalists" Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz (while mentioning also Arnauld and Malebranche among others). He examines how they tackled these and other central problems of philosophy and aims to show how closely their ideas are related, despite the radically different philosophical systems they produced. He not only places the major thinkers in their historical and philosophical contexts, but examines the relevance of their thinking to today's major philosophical topics.
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780192891907
Description
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.
Table of Contents
- NOTES
- REFERENCE LIST
- INDEX
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