The Routledge Companion to Eighteenth Century Philosophy

The Eighteenth century is one of the most important periods in the history of Western philosophy, witnessing philosophical, scientific, and social and political change on a vast scale. In spite of this, there are few single volume overviews of the philosophy of the period as a whole.

The Routledge Companion to Eighteenth Century Philosophy is an authoritative survey and assessment of this momentous period, covering major thinkers, topics and movements in Eighteenth century philosophy. Beginning with a substantial introduction by Aaron Garrett, the thirty-five specially commissioned chapters by an outstanding team of international contributors are organised into seven clear parts:

• Context and Movements
• Metaphysics and Understanding
• Mind, Soul, and Perception
• Morals and Aesthetics
• Politics and Society
• Philosophy in relation to the Arts and Sciences
• Major Figures.

Major topics and themes are explored and discussed, ranging from materialism, free will and personal identity; to the emotions, the social contract, aesthetics, and the sciences, including mathematics and biology. The final section examines in more detail three figures central to the period: Hume, Rousseau and Kant. As such The Routledge Companion to Eighteenth Century Philosophy is essential reading for all students of the period, both in philosophy and related disciplines such as politics, literature, history and religious studies.

Aaron Garrett is Associate Professor of philosophy at Boston University, USA. He has published books on Spinoza and Berkeley, articles on many topics in early modern philosophy, and is the co-editor (with James Harris) of the Oxford History of Scottish Enlightenment Philosophy. He is currently working on two books on moral philosophy in the early modern period: The View from the Devil’s Mountain: Seventeenth-Century Moral Philosophy and The Reasonableness of Morality.