Philosophy in the Reformation
A history of philosophy without any gaps, Volume 8
Published on 23. April 2026
Book
Hardback
704 pages
978-0-19-899123-6 (ISBN)
Description
In this latest volume of A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Peter Adamson presents a lively and accessible introduction to European philosophy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Philosophy in the Reformation focuses on the parallel and intertwining emergence of humanism and of religious reform, as figures like Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin remade the intellectual and spiritual life of Europe. In the first three parts of the book, philosophical developments in central Europe, France, and Britain are examined. A wide range of topics and controversies are discussed, from debates over free will to the legitimacy of tyrannicide. This was also the time of the Northern Renaissance, which saw a resurgence of ancient concepts like skepticism and atomist theories of matter. The volume's final section charts the Catholic reaction to these epochal events in the Counter-Reformation, and especially the ideas of Spanish thinkers like Molina and Suarez. Quite a few familiar figures are discussed, such as Montaigne and Copernicus. But as always in this series, Adamson lavishes attention on fascinating figures who are often ignored in the history of philosophy, like John Dee, Robert Fludd, and Oliva Sabuco (who is just one of numerous women intellectuals covered). Another feature of the book is its attention to literature and the arts: the reader will learn how the achievements of Duerer, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and Cervantes relate to philosophical currents of the time. The eighth volume in the A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps series takes us to the threshold of the early modern era and sets the stage for the developments that unfolded during the Enlightenment.
Philosophy in the Reformation focuses on the parallel and intertwining emergence of humanism and of religious reform, as figures like Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin remade the intellectual and spiritual life of Europe. In the first three parts of the book, philosophical developments in central Europe, France, and Britain are examined. A wide range of topics and controversies are discussed, from debates over free will to the legitimacy of tyrannicide. This was also the time of the Northern Renaissance, which saw a resurgence of ancient concepts like skepticism and atomist theories of matter. The volume's final section charts the Catholic reaction to these epochal events in the Counter-Reformation, and especially the ideas of Spanish thinkers like Molina and Suarez. Quite a few familiar figures are discussed, such as Montaigne and Copernicus. But as always in this series, Adamson lavishes attention on fascinating figures who are often ignored in the history of philosophy, like John Dee, Robert Fludd, and Oliva Sabuco (who is just one of numerous women intellectuals covered). Another feature of the book is its attention to literature and the arts: the reader will learn how the achievements of Duerer, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and Cervantes relate to philosophical currents of the time. The eighth volume in the A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps series takes us to the threshold of the early modern era and sets the stage for the developments that unfolded during the Enlightenment.
Reviews / Votes
Lightheartedly scholarly ... leaves readers looking forward to the next volume. * Jane O'Grady, Prospect *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 60 mm
Weight
1019 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-899123-6 (9780198991236)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Peter Adamson received his BA from Williams College and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He worked at King's College London from 2000-2012 and retains an affiliation there, but his main position is at the LMU in Munich. He has published widely in ancient and medieval philosophy and is the host of the History of Philosophy podcast.
Content
Preface Acknowledgements Dates Map Germany and the Low Countries 1: European Disunion: Introduction to the Reformation 2: Strong, Silent Type: The Printing Press 3: Lords of Language: Northern Humanism 4: Opposites Attract: Nicholas of Cusa 5: Books That Last Forever: Erasmus 6: One Way or Another: Northern Scholasticism 7: Faith, No More: Martin Luther 8: Take Your Choice: The Erasmus-Luther Debate 9: Depicting What Cannot Be Depicted: Two Renaissance Artworks 10: More Lutheran than Luther: Philip Melanchthon 11: No Lord but God: the Peasants' War and Radical Reformation 12: Slowly But Surely: Huldrych Zwingli 13: We Are Not Our Own: John Calvin 14: I Too Can Ask Questions: Protestant Scholasticism 15: Perhaps Not Wrong: Cornelius Agrippa 16: Just Add Salt: Paracelsus and Chemistry 17: The Acid Test: Theories of Matter 18: Born to Be Contrary: Toleration in the Netherlands 19: Everything is Mine, and Nothing: Lipsius and the Revival of Stoicism 20: The World Doesn't Revolve Around You: Copernicus 21: Best of Both Worlds: Tycho Brahe 22: Music of the Spheres: Johannes Kepler France 23: Do As the Romans Did: Early French Humanism 24: Pearls of Wisdom: Marguerite of Navarre 25: Seriously Funny: Rabelais 26: Word Perfect: Logic and Language in Renaissance France 27: Life Is Not Enough: Medicine in Renaissance France 28: Make it Simple: Peter Ramus 29: Divide and Conquer: Ramism 30: Believe at Your Own Risk: Toleration in France 31: Constitutional Conventions: the Huguenots 32: One to Rule Them All: Jean Bodin 33: Pen Pals: Later French Humanism 34: Not Matter, But Me: Montaigne 35: What Do I Know? French Skepticism 36: The Tenth Muse: Marie Le Jars de Gournay England and Scotland 37: God's is the Quarrel: The English Reformation 38: To Kill a King: The Scottish Reformation 39: Write Till Your Ink Be Dry: British Humanism 40: No Place Will Please Me So: Thomas More 41: With Such Perfection Govern: English Political Thought 42: The World's Law: Richard Hooker 43: Heaven-Bred Poesy: Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser 44: Hast Any Philosophy In Thee? William Shakespeare 45: A Face Without a Heart: Shakespeare's Hamlet and Individualism 46: Brave New World: Shakespeare's Tempest and Colonialism 47: Weird Sisters: Shakespeare's Macbeth and Witchcraft 48: She Uttereth Piercing Eloquence: Women's Spiritual Literature 49: I'll Teach You Differences: British Scholasticism 50: If This Be Magic, Let It Be an Art: John Dee 51: Nature's Mystery: English Renaissance Science 52: The Eye Sees Not Itself But By Reflection: Theories of Vision 53: Metal More Attractive: William Gilbert and Magnetism 54: Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores: Robert Fludd The Counter-Reformation 55: Don't Give Up Pope: Catholic Reformation 56: Cancel Culture: The Inquisition 57: Longitudinal Studies: Exploration and Science 58: Lambs to the Slaughter: Debating the New World 59: Marketplace of Letters: Iberian Humanism 60: The Dark Night Rises: Spanish Mysticism 61: Band of Brothers: the Jesuits 62: Not Doubting Thomas: the Aquinas Revival 63: Secondary Schools: Iberian Scholasticism 64: Could've, Would've, Should've: Free Will in the Second Scholastic 65: Better Than Nothing: Metaphysics in the Second Scholastic 66: The Price is Right: Law and Economics in the Second Scholastic 67: By Appointment Only: Political Philosophy in the Second Scholastic 68: Touch Me With Your Madness: Cervantes' Don Quixote 69: Take Your Medicine: Oliva Sabuco and Camilla Erculiani 70: Outsider Philosophy: The Cheese and the Worms 71: Cardinal Rule: Robert Bellarmine 72: Trial and Error: Galileo and the Inquisition Further reading