A Revolution of the Mind
Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy
Published on 26. September 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-0-691-15260-8 (ISBN)
Description
Democracy, free thought and expression, religious tolerance, individual liberty, political self-determination of peoples, sexual and racial equality--these values have firmly entered the mainstream in the decades since they were enshrined in the 1948 U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. But if these ideals no longer seem radical today, their origin was very radical indeed--far more so than most historians have been willing to recognize. In A Revolution of the Mind, Jonathan Israel, one of the world's leading historians of the Enlightenment, traces the philosophical roots of these ideas to what were the least respectable strata of Enlightenment thought--what he calls the Radical Enlightenment. Originating as a clandestine movement of ideas that was almost entirely hidden from public view during its earliest phase, the Radical Enlightenment matured in opposition to the moderate mainstream Enlightenment dominant in Europe and America in the eighteenth century. During the revolutionary decades of the 1770s, 1780s, and 1790s, the Radical Enlightenment burst into the open, only to provoke a long and bitter backlash.
A Revolution of the Mind shows that this vigorous opposition was mainly due to the powerful impulses in society to defend the principles of monarchy, aristocracy, empire, and racial hierarchy--principles linked to the upholding of censorship, church authority, social inequality, racial segregation, religious discrimination, and far-reaching privilege for ruling groups. In telling this fascinating history, A Revolution of the Mind reveals the surprising origin of our most cherished values--and helps explain why in certain circles they are frequently disapproved of and attacked even today.
A Revolution of the Mind shows that this vigorous opposition was mainly due to the powerful impulses in society to defend the principles of monarchy, aristocracy, empire, and racial hierarchy--principles linked to the upholding of censorship, church authority, social inequality, racial segregation, religious discrimination, and far-reaching privilege for ruling groups. In telling this fascinating history, A Revolution of the Mind reveals the surprising origin of our most cherished values--and helps explain why in certain circles they are frequently disapproved of and attacked even today.
Reviews / Votes
"Spinoza's radicalism was certainly frightening in its time, and Israel has valuably if aggressively opened the question of its influence on the Enlightenment and the era of revolution."--Samuel Moyn, Nation "Israel is right to emphasize the importance of this intellectual movement, but since his is such a sweeping revision of so many generations of received ideas, his work raises the question of why the radical Enlightenment has been misunderstood or obscured for so long in favor of such colorful figures as Voltaire (in Israel's telling, a witty, snobbish sycophant)... We are lucky that a historian of Israel's caliber has taken these subjects on and lucky, too, that he has now produced a readable introduction to them."--Benjamin Moser, Harper's Magazine "Israel's reasoned assertion for the influence of the Radical Enlightenment on democratic thought is certainly compelling, making this essential reading for students of the Enlightenment era as well as anyone interested in the foundations of modern democracy."--Library Journal "Israel's new book is a breathtaking rethinking of the Enlightenment and its impact in the modern world."--Choice "Perhaps no active scholar has shaped the conversation about the sources and meaning of the Enlightenment more than Jonathan Israel... Almost miraculously, Israel manages to embody the greatest intellectual virtues and vices."--Christian Century "Israel succeeds commendably in a great evaluation and dissemination of generally unknown texts from beyond the familiar territories of France, England, and America. In this respect, he broadens the common conception of where Enlightenment ideas were debated and implemented, unlike Isaiah Berlin, who failed to notice the American Enlightenment."--Rivka Weisberg and Carl Pletsch, 1650-1850 "In telling this fascinating story, A Revolution of the Mind reveals the surprising origins of our most cherished values--and helps explain why in certain circles they are frequently disapproved of and attacked even today."--World Book Industry "The book is obligatory reading."--Antal Szantay, Israel, European History Quarterly "[T]hanks to Israel's engaging narrative style, this is an accessible and entertaining, yet hugely informative read."--Sinead Fitzgibbon, Marginalia "Israel's book is itself a demonstration of just how alive Enlightenment values and ideals still are."--Alan Apperley, European LegacyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
359 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-15260-8 (9780691152608)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Jonathan Israel
A Revolution of the Mind
Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy
E-Book
11/2018
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€24.49
Available for download
Jonathan Israel
A Revolution of the Mind
Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy
Book
11/2009
Princeton University Press
€39.68
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Person
Jonathan Israel is professor of modern history at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He is in the process of finishing a monumental three-volume history of the Radical Enlightenment, the first two volumes of which, "Radical Enlightenment" and "Enlightenment Contested", have already been published.
Content
Preface vii CHAPTER I: Progress and the Enlightenment's Two Conflicting Ways of Improving the World 1 CHAPTER II: Democracy or Social Hierarchy? The Political Rift 37 CHAPTER III: The Problem of Equality and Inequality: The Rise of Economics 92 CHAPTER IV: The Enlightenment's Critique of War and the Quest for "Perpetual Peace" 124 CHAPTER V: Two Kinds of Moral Philosophy in Conflict 154 CHAPTER VI: Voltaire versus Spinoza: The Enlightenment as a Basic Duality of Philosophical Systems 199 CHAPTER VII: Conclusion 221 Notes 243 Index 267