17th/18th Century French Philosophy

Voltaire's name has long been associated with that era which has come to be called the Enlightenment. For many, the two are inexorably linked. But Voltaire's contributions to the thought of that era are much less understood. People may think of Voltaire's literary achievements, or the political causes he undertook, or even of his well-known skeptical wit, but he is rarely identified as a thinker who made penetrating and original contributions to political philosophy during his lifetime. Yet, when his most (...) serious endeavors are considered, it is clear that he justly deserves such a reputation. The trouble with studying Voltaire has always come in identifying his most serious endeavors. He wrote so much and across so many genres that it is a difficult and perplexing task to place one's finger precisely on the works appropriate for undertaking such a study. ;One particular group of writings that bear consideration are Voltaire's political histories. These works are unique for several reasons: they are recognized even today as excellent examples of historical research; they are so few in number, and, more importantly, Voltaire himself devoted nearly the entirety of his career to perfecting his portraits of just two, central individuals--Charles XII of Sweden, and Peter the Great of Russia. The story of these two sovereigns, contemporaries and actual enemies on the battlefield, embody Voltaire's radical political philosophy. In revealing to us their characters, their motivations, and their fates, Voltaire succeeds in a daring new enterprise--the crossbreeding of political history and political philosophy. (shrink)

El tratado De la sagesse de Pierre Charron es una obra difícil de clasificar y, como tal, ha recibido diversas interpretaciones en la historia de la filosofía. En este trabajo partimos de la interpretación "fideísta" propuesta por Richard Popkin y, luego de señalar sus limitaciones, prestamos atención a otras dos exégesis que guardan varios rasgos en común: la "libertina" y la "deísta". A propósito de esta última, en un cuarto momento, llamamos la atención sobre las semejanzas que presenta la Profession (...) de foi du vicaire savoyard de Rousseau con el tratado de Charron y evaluamos la influencia que éste pudo haber tenido en aquel texto fundamental en el pensamiento teológico del siglo XVIII. Nuestra conclusión es que Charron sería un antecedente importante del Vicario y que, en tal sentido, podría ser entendido como un protodeísta. Pierre Charron's De la sagesse is a work quite difficult to classify and, as such, has received various interpretations in the History of Philosophy. In this paper, we depart from the "fideist" reading proposed by Richard Popkin and, after pointing out its limitations, we focus on to two other exegesis, the "libertine" and the "deist", that have several traits in common. Finally, in a fourth section, we pay attention to the similarities that presents Rousseau's Profession de foi du Vicaire Savoyard with De la sagesse and evaluate the influence that Charron could have had on that fundamental text in Eighteenth Century theological thought. Our conclusion is that Charron could be considered an important antecedent of the Vicar, and in this sense, as a protodeist. (shrink)

Du Châtelet’s 1740 text Foundations of Physics tackles three of the major foundational issues facing natural philosophy in the early eighteenth century: the problem of bodies, the problem of force, and the question of appropriate methodology. This paper offers an introduction to Du Châtelet’s philosophy of science, as expressed in her Foundations of Physics, primarily through the lens of the problem of bodies.

Descartes.--Hobbes.--Locke.--Pascal.--Spinoza.--Leibniz.

This study discovers a pattern to Diderot's thinking, a fundamental dualism attributable largely to the attitudes and assumptions of the time and giving a common structure to his ideas and writing. Geoffrey Bremner draws widely on Diderot's works in studying his ideas on perception and action, aesthetics, ethics and politics, as well as his plays and fiction. The subtlety of the textual analysis and the analogies Dr Bremner draws provide a convincing and illuminating argument for his interpretation. He supports this (...) but emphasising the intellectual circumstances in which Diderot wrote and demonstrating his links to other eighteenth- and seventeenth-century writers. His study will therefore make a valuable contribution to the reassessment of the period that is currently underway, as well as to the central, elusive problem presented by Diderot's thought itself. (shrink)

An important reassessment of the afterlife of the Enlightenment and its continuing relevance in twenty-first century France.

In this study the natural philosophy of Pierre Gassendi has been examined in the light of the philosopher's goals. A new effort has been made to interpret Gassendi's almost completely neglected early manuscripts. Particular attention has been paid to the more significant developments and modifications of his philosophical positions that can be discerned by comparing the contents of the manuscripts with the later, published version of his philosophy. These changes, modifications and developments have been related to events and currents of (...) opinion in the wider intellectual and ecclesiastical milieu of the seventeenth century. ;The following topics were chosen for special study: Gassendi's anti-Aristotelianism and scepticism; his discipleship of Galileo Galilei; his adoption of Epicureanism; his ideological relationship with Marin Mersenne and his anti-Hermeticism. It was claimed that Gassendi's mature Epicurean philosophy developed homogeneously from the positions which he adopted and the presuppositions which he accepted when he was still a professor of Aristotelian philosophy. ;In particular, it was argued that Gassendi was essentially an anti-Aristotelian philosopher: he regarded it as his life's work to remove Aristotelianism from its position of dominance and to have Epicureanism accepted in its stead. It was this anti-Aristotelianism, it was argued, that almost completely explains why Gassendi was a sceptic, and also why he was a supporter of Galilean Copernicanism. Further, when he linked Aristotelianism with Hermeticism, Gassendi began to direct his Epicurean philosophy against Hermetic philosophy; hence, it was argued, his anti-Aristotelianism partly explains his anti-Hermeticism. ;In this thesis a new interpretation of Gassendi's philosophical work has been presented. Gassendi was not, it has been claimed as a conclusion of the study, a philosopher who made Epicureanism respectable; nor was he a materialist malgre lui; nor was he a collaborator with Mersenne in resisting a sceptical crisis; he was essentially an anti-Aristotelian promoter of Epicureanism, the philosophy which he deemed more suitable for the needs of the seventeenth century, both for supporting the Christian faith and for enabling philosophers to participate in and contribute to the progress of the new experimental and observational sciences. (shrink)