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A comprehensive yet accessible account of the major figures and movements of modern European philosophy
Modern European Philosophers explores the great Western thinkers of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Author Wayne Pomerleau presents a thorough historical treatment of the key ideas and arguments of twenty-one influential philosophers such as René Descartes, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Søren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Balancing depth and accessibility, topically organized chapters examine the work of a particular philosopher concerning epistemology, reality, the divine, human nature, freedom versus determinism, ethical theory, and various issues of society. Each chapter includes a brief topic overview and summary, biographical background, textual references, and direct quotations from primary sources.
* Examines early modern rationalism, early modern empiricism, German idealism, and anti-idealist alternatives
* Covers Rousseau, Hobbes, Leibniz, Schopenhauer, Hume, Hegel, Marx, and other major European thinkers
* Contains an introductory chapter with background information on ancient philosophy, medieval philosophy, and renaissance thinkers
* Includes integrated coverage of nine women philosophers of modern Europe to illustrate alternative perspectives
Modern European Philosophers is an excellent primary or supplementary text for undergraduate and graduate courses on the history of modern philosophy and a useful resource for general readers looking to learn about the modern Western intellectual tradition.
List of contents
Introduction
Ch. 1 - Background
Overview
Ancient Philosophy
"Ancient"
"Philosophy"
The Pre-Socratics
Socrates and Plato
Aristotle
Post-Aristotelians
Epicurus
Epictetus
Sextus Empiricus
Cicero
Plotinus
Medieval Philosophy
"Medieval"
Augustine
Boethius
Anselm
Aquinas
Renaissance Thinkers
"Renaissance"
Machiavelli
Montaigne
Bacon
Galileo
Review
Ch. 2 - René Descartes
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Another Perspective: Princess Elisabeth
Ch. 3 - Thomas Hobbes
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Another Perspective: Margaret Cavendish
Ch. 4 - Blaise Pascal
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Ch. 5 - Baruch Spinoza
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Another Perspective: Anne Conway
Ch. 6 - Nicolas Malebranche
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Ch. 7 - John Locke
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Another Perspective: Catharine Cockburn
Ch. 8 - G. W. Leibniz
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Another Perspective: Lady Masham
Ch. 9 - George Berkeley
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Ch. 10 - Joseph Butler
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Ch. 11 - David Hume
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Another Perspective: Mary Shepherd
Ch. 12 - Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
Society
Review
Another Perspective: Mary Wollstonecraft
Ch. 13 - Immanuel Kant
Overview
Biography
Knowledge
Reality
God
Humanity
Freedom
Morality
About the author
WAYNE P. POMERLEAU is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University, where he taught philosophy for more than 40 years before retiring in 2021. He is the author of
Twelve Great Philosophers and
Western Philosophies of Religion.
Summary
A comprehensive yet accessible account of the major figures and movements of modern European philosophy
Modern European Philosophers explores the great Western thinkers of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Author Wayne Pomerleau presents a thorough historical treatment of the key ideas and arguments of twenty-one influential philosophers such as René Descartes, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Søren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Balancing depth and accessibility, topically organized chapters examine the work of a particular philosopher concerning epistemology, reality, the divine, human nature, freedom versus determinism, ethical theory, and various issues of society. Each chapter includes a brief topic overview and summary, biographical background, textual references, and direct quotations from primary sources.
* Examines early modern rationalism, early modern empiricism, German idealism, and anti-idealist alternatives
* Covers Rousseau, Hobbes, Leibniz, Schopenhauer, Hume, Hegel, Marx, and other major European thinkers
* Contains an introductory chapter with background information on ancient philosophy, medieval philosophy, and renaissance thinkers
* Includes integrated coverage of nine women philosophers of modern Europe to illustrate alternative perspectives
Modern European Philosophers is an excellent primary or supplementary text for undergraduate and graduate courses on the history of modern philosophy and a useful resource for general readers looking to learn about the modern Western intellectual tradition.
