But, more than this, the eighteenth-century philosophy is a period in which a great movement of thought is exhibited, and that, too, on a large and conspicuous stage. England, France, Germany form its settings. It begins with Locke and is completed in Kant. And whatever significance Kant may possess for the philosophical world to-day attaches also to this period, for this period served to open the way for the critical philosophy of the great master which is its appropriate culmination.
Moreover, the practical influences of the philosophical discussions of this age are of such extent and importance as to engage the attention of the ordinary reader of history, as well as that of the more special worker in the field of philosophy. In England religious controversy, political theory, and moral standards were profoundly affected by the philosophical tendencies of the day; in France the social and political doctrines became involved with the philosophical, and they were not without a dominating influence upon the popular mind, not only throughout the period preceding the French Revolution, but also during the years of its progress as well; in Germany the same tendencies manifested themselves in theological controversy on the one hand, and in the quickening of poetical insight and interpretation on the other, so that poets became philosophers, and philosophers became poets.
The movement of philosophical thought in this age, moreover, is typical of great movements of thought generally, and in this aspect is both illuminating and suggestive as a representative historical study. The tendencies which here prevail, the characteristic differences in point of view, as well as the complementary relation of opposed opinions, are all repeated again and again in the various political, social, religious, moral, and philosophical controversies which emerge through every significant period in the history of thought.
Even today the philosophes are considered to have been completely dominated in their thinking by an optimism that leads to dogmatism and ultimately rationalism. However, on closer inspection, such a conception seems untenable, not only after careful study of the impact of scepticism on numerous intellectual domains in the period, but also as a result of a better understanding of the character of the Enlightenment. Nevertheless, the deficiencies of current studies of Enlightenment scepticism are undeniable.
In taking up this question in particular, the present volume, which is entirely devoted to the scepticism of the Enlightenment in both its historical and geographical dimensions, seeks to provide readers with a revaluation of the alleged decline of scepticism.
At the same time it attempts to resituate the Pyrrhonian heritage within its larger context and to recapture the fundamental issues at stake. The aim is to construct an alternative conception of Enlightenment philosophy, by means of philosophical modernity itself, whose initial stages can be found herein.
In this book they will find illuminations, in a more informal voice, of the major themes in Cassirer's work. New readers will be introduced to the great issues that occupied the interest of one of the twentieth century's most widely read philosophers.
Into it he poured all the resources of his vast learning about language and myth, religion, art, and science—the various creative symbolizing activities and constructions through which man has expressed himself and given intelligible objective form to this experience.
Six essays which analyze the non-national thought processes that influence culture. Ernst Cassirer's philosophy of symbolic forms has met with a wide range of reactions from his readers, often drawing the criticism that it remains within the rubric of a neo-Kantian intellectualism.
Specifically, Heidegger criticized Cassirer for not recognizing the finite and embodied nature of humanity. The present thesis argues that Cassirer holds a view of humanity as essentially finite, embodied, and temporal.
Further, it argues that humanity's power for self-development stems directly from its limited, yet open, character. The first chapter demonstrates that Cassirer advances a conception of human life as defined by the symbolic, and a conception of the symbolic that is rooted in human embodied life. The second chapter presents Cassirer's critique of the traditional theories of perception and then argues that his notion of symbolic pregnance is key to understanding both his theory of perception and the power for humanity to symbolically construct its cultural world.
The third chapter returns to Cassirer's conception of life, showing that only in virtue of our embodiment is life able to actualize itself, construct its cultural world, and advance into the realm of Spirit. Examines the nature and functions of myth and its role in the development of political thought from the time of the ancient Greeks to the twentieth century. Now for the first time available in an admirable English translation, the book introduces the reader to two of the finest minds in the history of philosophy.
This provocative volume, one of the most important interpretive works on the philosophical thought of the Renaissance, has long been regarded as a classic in its field. Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide.
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Without cookies your experience may not be seamless. Institutional Login. LOG IN. Register now, 7 days free trial. In this classic work of intellectual history, Ernst Cassirer provides both a cogent synthesis and a penetrating analysis of one of history's greatest intellectual epochs: the Enlightenment. Arguing that there was a common foundation beneath the diverse strands of thought of this period, he shows how Enlightenment philosophers drew upon the ideas of the preceding centuries even while radically transforming them to fit the modern world.
In Cassirer's view, the Enlightenment liberated philosophy from the realm of pure thought and restored it to its true place as an active and creative force through which knowledge of the world is achieved.
In a new foreword, Peter Gay considers The Philosophy of the Enlightenment in the context in which it was written--Germany in , on the precipice of the Nazi seizure of power and one of the greatest assaults on the ideals of the Enlightenment. He also argues that Cassirer's work remains a trenchant defense against enemies of the Enlightenment in the twenty-first century. In Cassirer's view, the Enlightenment liberated philosophy from the realm of pure thought and.
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