1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456259603321

Autore

Losonsky Michael

Titolo

Enlightenment and action from Descartes to Kant : passionate thought / / Michael Losonsky [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2001

ISBN

1-107-12394-1

0-521-03978-9

0-511-49824-1

0-511-15447-X

0-511-04409-7

0-511-17453-5

0-511-32837-0

1-280-43349-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xvii, 221 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

128/.09/032

Soggetti

Enlightenment

Philosophy, Modern - 17th century

Reason - Social aspects - History - 17th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-211) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: the enlightened mind -- Descartes: willful thinking -- Hobbes: passionate thinking -- Locke: uneasy thinking -- Enthusiasm: inspired thinking -- Spinoza: resolute thinking -- Leibniz: trained thinking -- Conclusion: the public mind.

Sommario/riassunto

Kant believed that true enlightenment is the use of reason freely in public. This book systematicaaly traces the philosophical origins and development of the idea that the improvement of human understanding requires public activity. Michael Losonsky focuses on seventeenth-century discussions of the problem of irresolution and the closely connected theme of the role of volition in human belief formation. This involves a discussion of the work of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Spinoza and Leibniz. Challenging the traditional views of seventeenth-century philosophy and written in a lucid, non-technical language, this book



will be eagerly sought out by historians of philosophy and students of the history of ideas.