The Rationalists

Download or read book The Rationalists written by Pauline Phemister and published by Polity. This book was released on 2006-09-14 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz stand out among their seventeenth-century contemporaries as the great rationalist philosophers. Each sought to construct a philosophical system in which theological and philosophical foundations serve to explain the physical, mental and moral universe. Through a careful analysis of their work, Pauline Phemister explores the rationalists seminal contribution to the development of modern philosophy. Broad terminological agreement and a shared appreciation of the role of reason in ethics do not mask the very significant disagreements that led to three distinctive philosophical systems: Cartesian dualism, Spinozan monism and Leibnizian pluralism. The book explores the nature of, and offers reasons for, these differences. Phemister contends that Spinoza and Leibniz developed their systems in part through engagements with and amendment of Cartesian philosophy, and critically analyses the arguments and contributions of all three philosophers. The clarity of the authors discussion of their key ideas including their views on knowledge, universal languages, the nature of substance and substances, bodies, the relation of mind and body, freedom, and the role of distinct perception and reason in morals will make this book the ideal introduction to rationalist philosophy.

Download or read book The Rationalists written by John Cottingham and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 1988 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This clear, concise account of rationalist philosophy focuses mainly, though not exclusively, on its greatest figures, Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, showing how closely their ideas are related, despite the radically different philosophical systems they produced.

Download or read book The Rationalists written by Rene Descartes and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2011-04-13 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Founded in the mid-17th century, Rationalism was philosophy's first step into the modern era. This volume contains the essential statements of Rationalism's three greatest figures: Descartes, who began it; Spinoza, who epitomized it; and Leibniz, who gave it its last serious expression.

Download or read book The Rationalists written by Derk Pereboom and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1999 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together thirteen articles on the most discussed thinkers in the rationalist movement: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Malebranche. These articles address the topics in metaphysics and epistemology that figure most prominently in contemporary work on these philosophers. The articles have all been produced since 1980, and their authors are among the most respected in the field.

Download or read book Discourse on Metaphysics written by Gottfried Wilhelm Freiherr von Leibniz and published by . This book was released on 1953 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Rationalists: Between Tradition and Innovation written by Carlos Fraenkel and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-10-12 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume draws a balanced picture of the Rationalists by bringing their intellectual contexts, sources and full range of interests into sharper focus, without neglecting their core commitment to the epistemological doctrine that earned them their traditional label. The collection of original essays addresses topics ranging from theodicy and early modern music theory to Spinoza’s anti-humanism, often critically revising important aspects of the received picture of the Rationalists. Another important contribution of the volume is that it brings out aspects of Rationalist philosophers and their legacies that are not ordinarily associated with them, such as the project of a Cartesian ethics. Finally, a strong emphasis is placed on the connection of the Rationalists’ philosophy to their interests in empirical science, to their engagement in the political life of their era, and to the religious background of many of their philosophical commitments.

Download or read book A Companion to Rationalism written by Alan Nelson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a wide-ranging examination of rationalist thought in philosophy from ancient times to the present day. Written by a superbly qualified cast of philosophers Critically analyses the concept of rationalism Focuses principally on the golden age of rationalism in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries Also covers ancient rationalism, nineteenth-century rationalism, and rationalist themes in recent thought Organised chronologically Various philosophical methods and viewpoints are represented