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Enlightenment and Action from Descartes to Kant

Passionate Thought

Michael Losonsky author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:13th Aug '01

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Enlightenment and Action from Descartes to Kant cover

This book systematically traces the development of the idea that the improvement of human understanding requires public activity.

This book systematically traces the philosophical origins and development of the idea that the improvement of human understanding requires public activity, discussing the work of Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Spinoza, and Leibniz.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.

'… a deep and carefully argued account of the relationships between volition, emotion and cognition in important seventeenth-century texts … Losonsky has given us an empowering book …' British Journal for the History of Philosophy

ISBN: 9780521806121

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 14mm

Weight: 450g

240 pages