Descartes and the Enlightenment PDF
Preview Descartes and the Enlightenment
DESCARTES AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT Descartes and the Enlightenment begins with an examination of the role played by the concepts freedom, mastery, and progress in Descartes' writing. Peter Schouls argues that these concepts express a vital and fundamental feature of Descartes' thought, and his careful and de- tailed examination of the conjunction and use of these concepts in Descartes' writings shows that they play the same role in Descartes' works as they do in writing typical of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. In order to avoid facile and vague generalizations about the eigh- teenth century, Schouls limits himself to discussion of a single part of the spectrum of acknowledged Enlightenment reflection, namely, the French philosophes. While the relationship between Descartes and En- lightenment thinkers is often characterized as one of animosity and rejection, Schouls shows that this is true only on a superficial exam- ination. The main feature of the relationship is one of profound affinity—an affinity which is shown in the eighteenth century's assim- ilation of central elements from Descartes' writing. Schouls' study shows that the philosophes are, and acknowledge themselves to be, Descartes' progeny. Peter A. Schouls is a member of the Department of Philosophy, Uni- versity of Alberta. This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:23 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms MCGILL-QUEEN'S STUDIES IN THE HlSTORY OF IDEAS This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:23 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms DESCARTES AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT Peter A. Schouls McGill-Queen's University Press Kingston and Montreal This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:23 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms © McGill-Queen's University Press 1989 First published in Canada in 1989 by McGill-Queen's University Press ISBN 0-7735-1014-1 Legal deposit first quarter 1989 Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper Published in the United Kingdom in 1989 by Edinburgh University Press ISBN 0-8522-4562-9 This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Schouls, Peter, 1937- Descartes and the Enlightenment (McGill-Queen's studies in the history of ideas) Includes index. Bibliography: p. ISBN 0-7735-1014-1 1. Descartes, Rene, 1596—1650—Influence. 2. Enlightenment. 3. Philosophy, French—18th century. 4. France—Intellectual life—18th century. I. Title. II. Series. B1875.S38 1989 194 C88-090451-8 This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:23 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms •To Jeanette This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:23 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms This page intentionally left blank This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:23 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTtttttttttt Introduction 3 i Escape from Bondage 13 ii Reason and Free Will 39 iii Descartes and the Enlightenment 63 iv Autonomy and Spontaneity 77 v Freedom, Mastery, and Progress 99 vi Progress and Enlightenment 128 vii Self-Mastery 144 viii Mastery, Method, and Enlightenment 173 BIBLIOGRAPHY 187 INDEX 191 This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:25 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms This page intentionally left blank This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:25 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Acknowledtgments For the academic year of 1981-82 the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded me a Time Release Stipend; for 1983-84 the University of Alberta allowed me a Study Leave. The penultimate draft of this book was completed during the first of these periods; during the second it was given its present form. I am deeply grateful to both the Council and the University for their generous support of my work. I am indebted to many of my students, particularly to the students who took my graduate seminars, and to graduate students Kevin O'Brien (for proofreading and many pertinent comments along the way) and Donna Dorsey (for compiling the index). Many colleagues, especially Cameron MacKenzie and Frederick Van De Pitte, made valuable suggestions at various stages. My greatest indebtedness is to my friends and colleagues Richard Bosley, Hendrik Hart, and John King-Farlow. During 1982-83 each of these read the complete first draft and made numerous very helpful suggestions for improvement. Three forthcoming articles draw upon parts of this book. These are: "Descartes and the Idea of Progress," History of Philosophy Quarterly 4, no. 4 (1987): 423-33; "Descartes: la primaute du libre vouloir sur la raison," Dialogue 25, no. 2 (1986): 211-21; and "Descartes as Rev- olutionary," Philosophia Reformata 52, no. 1 (1987): 4-23. I thank the editors of these journals for permission to use this material. Throughout my life and work there is the joy of my wife's presence. To her I dedicate this book. This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:25 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms This page intentionally left blank This content downloaded from 61.129.42.30 on Thu, 22 Dec 2016 20:22:25 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
The list of books you might like
