The Dream of Enlightenment
The Rise of Modern Philosophy
1st Edition
Published on 30. August 2016
320 pages
978-0-14-194439-5 (ISBN)
Description
'This is a blast of fresh air' Jonathan Clark, TLS
'Thank goodness for Gottlieb' Daily Telegraph
'A joy to read' Economist
The author of the celebrated The Dream of Reason vividly explains the rise of modern thought from Descartes to Rousseau
In a short period - from the early 1640s to the eve of the French Revolution - Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, and Hume all made their mark on Western thought. The Dream of Enlightenment tells their story and that of the birth of modern philosophy. What does the advance of science entail for our understanding of ourselves and for our ideas of God? How should a government deal with religious diversity - and what is government actually for? Their questions remain our questions, and it is tempting to think these philosophers speak our language and live in our world; but to understand them properly, we must step back into their shoes. Gottlieb puts readers in the minds of these frequently misinterpreted figures, elucidating the history of their times while engagingly explaining their arguments and assessing their legacy. Gottlieb creates a sweeping account of what they amounted to, and why we are still in their debt.
'Thank goodness for Gottlieb' Daily Telegraph
'A joy to read' Economist
The author of the celebrated The Dream of Reason vividly explains the rise of modern thought from Descartes to Rousseau
In a short period - from the early 1640s to the eve of the French Revolution - Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, and Hume all made their mark on Western thought. The Dream of Enlightenment tells their story and that of the birth of modern philosophy. What does the advance of science entail for our understanding of ourselves and for our ideas of God? How should a government deal with religious diversity - and what is government actually for? Their questions remain our questions, and it is tempting to think these philosophers speak our language and live in our world; but to understand them properly, we must step back into their shoes. Gottlieb puts readers in the minds of these frequently misinterpreted figures, elucidating the history of their times while engagingly explaining their arguments and assessing their legacy. Gottlieb creates a sweeping account of what they amounted to, and why we are still in their debt.
Reviews / Votes
Wondrously perceptive and exceptionally well-written -- Edward O. Wilson An entertaining introduction to a range of daring thinkers of the long Enlightenment from Descartes to Rousseau. The author has a light touch, and his book is a joy to read. He manages to convey the excitement of ideas, and the humanity of thinkers, without swamping readers with complexity. * Economist * Vivid and illuminating ... a compact but fairly comprehensive survey, along with much historical detail ... Gottlieb's highly readable book can be recommended as an engaging personal introduction to some of our most brilliant moral and intellectual ancestors. -- Thomas Nagel * New York Review of Books * He wears his learning lightly with an engaging and entirely comprehensible sequence of crystal-clear paragraphs. ... His prose is as witty as it is punctilious, peppered with clever, memorable lines. ... Because Gottlieb does not take an excessively idealistic view of the power of reason, he is able to put the achievements of the thinkers in this book in their place, neither exaggerating nor diminishing them. -- Julian Baggini * Financial Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
File size
1,89 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-14-194439-5 (9780141944395)
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
Book
approx. 04/2027
Penguin
€16.50
Not yet published
Book
08/2017
Penguin Books Ltd
€16.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Book
08/2016
Allen Lane
€44.80
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Person
Anthony Gottlieb is a former executive editor of the Economist and has held visiting fellowships at Harvard University and All Souls College, Oxford. His work has appeared in the New Yorker and The New York Times. He lives in New York.
