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Zusatztext "[I]f you want to know about pictures of Descartes, this is the place to look. The colour plates in themselves are a justification for having the book to hand, (let alone the many black and white images including one of Descartes in a baseball cap)." ---Martin Cohen, Philosopher Informationen zum Autor Steven Nadler Klappentext In the spring of 1672, German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz arrived in Paris, home of France's two greatest philosopher-theologians of the period, Antoine Arnauld and Nicolas de Malebranche. The meeting of these three men represents a profoundly important moment in the history of philosophical and religious thought. In The Best of All Possible Worlds, Steven Nadler tells the story of a clash between radically divergent worldviews. At its heart are the dramatic--and often turbulent--relationships between these brilliant and resolute individuals. Despite their wildly different views and personalities, the three philosophers shared a single, passionate concern: resolving the problem of evil. Why is it that, in a world created by an all-powerful, all-wise, and infinitely just God, there is sin and suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people, and good things to bad people?The Best of All Possible Worlds brings to life a debate that obsessed its participants, captivated European intellectuals, and continues to inform our ways of thinking about God, morality, and the world. Zusammenfassung In the spring of 1672, German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz arrived in Paris, home of France's two greatest philosopher-theologians of the period, Antoine Arnauld and Nicolas de Malebranche. Their meeting represents an important moment. This work focuses on relationships between these brilliant and resolute individuals. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface ix Chapter 1. Leibniz in Paris 3 Chapter 2. Philosophy on the Left Bank 23 Chapter 3. Le Grand Arnauld 52 Chapter 4. Theodicy 78 Chapter 5. The Kingdoms of Nature and Grace 108 Chapter 6. "Touch the Mountains and They Smoke" 141 Chapter 7. The Eternal Truths 184 Chapter 8. The Specter of Spinoza 217 Epilogue 241 Notes 255 Bibliography 281 Acknowledgments 287 Index 289 ...
About the author
Steven Nadler is the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of
Rembrandt's Jews, a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize, as well as
Spinoza: A Life and
Spinoza's Heresy.
