Sir Anthony Kenny's engaging new multi-volume history of Western
philosophy now advances into the modern era. The Rise of Modern
Philosophy captures the fascinating story of the emergence, from the
early sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, of the great ideas and
intellectual systems that shaped modern thought.
Kenny introduces us to some of the world's most original and influential
thinkers and helps us gain an understanding of their famous works. The
great minds we meet include René Descartes, traditionally seen as the
founder of modern philosophy; the great British philosophers Hobbes,
Locke, and Hume; continental thinkers such as Spinoza, Liebniz, and
Hegel; and the towering figure of Immanuel Kant, who perhaps more than
any other made philosophy what it is today. Kenny first tells the story
of modern philosophy chronologically: his lively, accessible narrative
brings the philosophers to life and fills in the historical and
intellectual background to their work. It is ideal as the first thing to
read for someone new to this wonderfully creative period. Kenny then
backtracks to look closely at each of the main areas of philosophical
exploration in this period: knowledge and understanding; the nature of
the physical universe; metaphysics (the most fundamental questions there
are about
existence); mind and soul; the nature and content of morality; political
philosophy; and God.
The book also features many intriguing and beautiful illustrations which
evoke the human and social side of philosophy. Anyone who is interested
in the evolution of modern thought will find this a book a treasure.
