Classical Modern Philosophy

Book excerpt: Classical Modern Philosophy introduces students to the key philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and explores their most important works. Jeffrey Tlumak takes the reader on a chronological journey from Descartes to Kant, tracing the themes that run through the period and their interrelations. The main texts covered are: Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy Spinoza's Ethics Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding Leibniz's Discourse on Metaphysics and Monadology Berkeley's A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Kant's Critique of Pure Reason Classical Modern Philosophy is the ideal textbook to accompany a course in the history of modern philosophy, but each chapter can also be studied alone as an introduction to the featured philosopher or work. Jeffrey Tlumak outlines and assesses prominent interpretations of the texts, and surveys the legacy of each great thinker.