A Revolution of the Mind (ebook)

Argumento de A Revolution of the Mind (ebook)

"Perhaps no active scholar has shaped the conversation about the sources and meaning of the Enlightenment more than Jonathan Israel. . . . Almost miraculously, Israel manages to embody the greatest intellectual virtues and vices."--Christian Century

"This book succeeds beautifully. Written with confidence and concision, it lays out Jonathan Israel's central ideas about the Radical Enlightenment and its fundamental importance in shaping the values of democratic modernity. Those who already know his work will find a clear and bold statement of his principal arguments, as well as important elaborations and expansions. Those unfamiliar with his scholarship will get a masterful introduction to the work of one of the leading Enlightenment scholars in the world today."--Darrin M. McMahon, Florida State University

"Interesting, erudite, and provocative, this book provides readers with a succinct and clear introduction to Jonathan Israel's wide-ranging work on the Radical Enlightenment. It should command a broad readership."--James Schmidt, Boston University

"Israel's new book is a breathtaking rethinking of the Enlightenment and its impact in the modern world."--Choice

"The book is obligatory reading."--Antal Szántay, Israel, European History Quarterly

"In telling this fascinating story, A Revolution of the Mind reveals the surprising origins of our most cherished values--and helps explain why in certain circles they are frequently disapproved of and attacked even today."--World Book Industry

"Israel is right to emphasize the importance of this intellectual movement, but since his is such a sweeping revision of so many generations of received ideas, his work raises the question of why the radical Enlightenment has been misunderstood or obscured for so long in favor of such colorful figures as Voltaire (in Israel's telling, a witty, snobbish sycophant). . . . We are lucky that a historian of Israel's caliber has taken these subjects on and lucky, too, that he has now produced a readable introduction to them."--Benjamin Moser, Harper's Magazine

"[T]hanks to Israel's engaging narrative style, this is an accessible and entertaining, yet hugely informative read."--Sinéad Fitzgibbon, Marginalia

"Spinoza's radicalism was certainly frightening in its time, and Israel has valuably if aggressively opened the question of its influence on the Enlightenment and the era of revolution."--Samuel Moyn, Nation

"Israel succeeds commendably in a great evaluation and dissemination of generally unknown texts from beyond the familiar territories of France, England, and America. In this respect, he broadens the common conception of where Enlightenment ideas were debated and implemented, unlike Isaiah Berlin, who failed to notice the American Enlightenment."--Rivka Weisberg and Carl Pletsch, 1650-1850

"Israels book is itself a demonstration of just how alive Enlightenment values and ideals still are."--Alan Apperley, European Legacy

"Israel's reasoned assertion for the influence of the Radical Enlightenment on democratic thought is certainly compelling, making this essential reading for students of the Enlightenment era as well as anyone interested in the foundations of modern democracy."--Library Journal0Preface vii
CHAPTER I: Progress and the Enlightenment's Two Conflicting Ways of Improving the World 1
CHAPTER II: Democracy or Social Hierarchy? The Political Rift 37
CHAPTER III: The Problem of Equality and Inequality: The Rise of Economics 92
CHAPTER IV: The Enlightenment's Critique of War and the Quest for "Perpetual Peace" 124
CHAPTER V: Two Kinds of Moral Philosophy in Conflict 154
CHAPTER VI: Voltaire versus Spinoza: The Enlightenment as a Basic Duality of Philosophical Systems 199
CHAPTER VII: Conclusion 221
Notes 243
Index 267