The Modern Turn (studies In Philosophy And The History Of Philosophy)

What is the modern turn in philosophy? In other words, what are the features that make modern philosophy distinctively "modern" in contrast with the pre-modern philosophy from which it emerged – for example, medieval scholasticism, Renaissance philosophy, and ancient Greek and Roman thought? How did the modern turn in philosophy transpire? That is, what did specific philosophers contribute that shaped the distinctive character of modern philosophy? The twelve essays in this volume seek to address these questions, and in doing so they exemplify and contribute to a rich debate about the nature and value of modern philosophy. This volume approaches the modern turn not as an event that occurred all at once, but rather as a series of shifts in different areas of philosophy at different times. The essays are arranged broadly in chronological order of the topics they treat. Among the themes that recur most often in these essays are, first, that modern philosophy is characteristically preoccupied with questions about foundations and, second, that it ultimately prioritizes practice over theory. But the virtues of this text is in presenting a wide range or perspectives on modern philosophy – what constitutes it as modern, when it arose, and what its shortcomings may be. What is the modern turn in philosophy? In other words, what are the features that make modern philosophy distinctively "modern" in contrast with the pre-modern philosophy from which it emerged - for example, medieval scholasticism, Renaissance philosophy, and ancient Greek and Roman thought? How did the modern turn in philosophy transpire? That is, what did specific philosophers contribute that shaped the distinctive character of modern philosophy? The twelve essays in this volume seek to address these questions, and in doing so so they exemplify and contribute to a rich debate about that nature and value of modern philosophy. This volume approaches the modern turn not as an event that occurred all at once, but rather as a series of shifts in different areas of philosophy at different times. The essays are arranged broadly in chronological order of the topics they treat. Among the themes that recur most often in these essays are, first, that modern philosophy is characteristically preoccupied with questions about foundations and, second, that it ultimately prioritizes practice over theory. But the virtue of this text is its wide range of perspectives on modern philosophy - what constitutes it as modern, when it arose, and what its shortcomings may be. -- from dust jacket Michael Rohlf, Introduction 1 1. Michael Gillespie, Machiavelli’s Modernity and the Christian Tradition 13 2. Nathan Tarcov, Machiavelli’s Modern Turn 36 3. Tad M. Schmaltz, Descartes’s Critique of Scholastic Teleology 54 4. Steven Nadler, Spinoza and Toleration 74 5. Michael Pakaluk, From Natural Law to Natural Rights in John Locke 89 6. Nicholas Jolley, Leibniz: Modern or Premodern Philosopher? 112 7. Richard F. Hassing, Modern Turns in Mathematics and Physics 131 8. Thomas W. Merrill, Hume contra Humean Practical Reason: Philosophy as the Choice of Our Guide 183 9. Michael Rohlf, Happiness in Rousseau and Kant 216 10. Paul Guyer, Kant, Autonomy, and Modernity 239 11. Harvey C. Mansfield, Tocqueville on Religion and Liberty 261 12. Rémi Brague, The Failure of the Modern Project 291 What is the modern turn in philosophy? In other words, what are the features that make modern philosophy distinctively ""modern"" in contrast with the pre-modern philosophy from which it emerged? The twelve essays in this volume seek to address this question, and in doing so, exemplify and contribute to a rich debate about the nature and value of modern philosophy.