The second, corrected edition of the first and only complete English translation of Kant's highly influential introduction to philosophy, presenting both the terminological and structural basis for his philosophical system, and offeri...
Hume: A Very Short Introduction
A. J. AyerHume's "naturalist" approach to a wide variety of philosophical topics resulted in highly original theories about perception, self-identity, causation, morality, politics, and religion, all of which are discussed in this stimulating i...
David Hume is generally recognized as England's greatest philosopher, as well as a notable historian and essayist. Yet his work is delicately poised between scepticism and naturalism, between despair at the limited powers of the mind ...
Discourse on Method and Related Writi...
Rene Descartes"It is not enough to have a good mind; it is more important to use it well" René Descartes was a central figure in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. In his Discourse on Method he outlined the contrast betwe...
Meditations and Other Metaphysical Wr...
Rene DescartesA new translation of the six Meditations and accompanying selections from the Objections and Replies, which constitute a definitive statement of the foundations of Descartes' philosophy. Also includes relevant correspondence form the...
Hume's comprehensive effort to form an observationally grounded study of human nature employs John Locke's empiric principles to construct a theory of knowledge from which to evaluate metaphysical ideas. A key to modern studies of 18t...
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion...
David HumeIn the posthumously published "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion", the Enlightenment philosopher David Hume attacked many of the traditional arguments for the existence of God, expressing the belief that religion is founded on ign...
Introduction by Allen W. WoodWith translations by F. Max Müller and Thomas K. AbbottThe writings of Immanuel Kant became the cornerstone of all subsequent philosophical inquiry. They articulate the relationship between the human mind...
Kant's attempt to establish the principles behind the faculty of judgment remains one of the most important works on human reason. This third of the philosopher's three Critiques forms the very basis of modern aesthetics by establishi...
An Essay Concerning Human Understandi...
John LockeLocke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) withstood an onslaught by traditional theologians, for rejecting orthodox theology and the concept of innate ideas: as he suggested that God could make matter think. The Essay qui...
Introducing Descartes: A Graphic Guid...
Dave RobinsonUnique graphic introductions to big ideas and thinkers, written by experts in the field.
Musician, poet, novelist and botanist, but above all, a philosopher who denied being one, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the first to ask: What is the value of civilization?” His answer shocked Enlightenment contemporaries and still ch...
The Social Contract: Or Principles of...
Jean-Jacques RousseauSocial Contract takes up an argument which had begun with Bodin and Hobbes, and been continued by Grotius, Spinoza, and Locke to form the foundation of political thinking in the eighteenth century. The Social Contract is a work of con...
Kant: A Very Short Introduction
Roger ScrutonImmanuel Kant is arguably the most influential modern philosopher, but is also one of the most difficult. In this illuminating Very Short Introduction, Roger Scruton--a well-known and controversial philosopher in his own right--tackle...
Father of the Enlightenment and the last guardian of the medieval world, Spinoza made a brilliant attempt to reconcile the conflicting moral and intellectual demands of his epoch and to present a vision of man as simultaneously bound ...
Hegel: A Very Short Introduction
Peter SingerHegel is regarded as one of the most influential figures on modern political and intellectual development. After painting Hegel's life and times in broad strokes, Peter Singer goes on to tackle some of the more challenging aspects of ...
Introducing the Enlightenment: A Grap...
Lloyd SpencerIntroducing the Enlightenment is the essential guide to the giants of the Enlightenment—Adam Smith, Samuel Johnson, Immanuel Kant, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. This book provides a clear and accessible introduction to th...
The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz...
Matthew Stewart“A colorful reinterpretation. . . . Stewart’s wit and profluent prose make this book a fascinating read.”—Publishers Weekly, starred reviewPhilosophy in the late seventeenth century was a dangerous business. No careerist could...