The Rationalists Between Tradition and Innovation [Paperback]

This volume draws a balanced picture of the Rationalists by bringing their intellectual contexts, sources and full range of interests into sharper focus, without neglecting their core commitment to the epistemological doctrine that earned them their traditional label. The collection of original essays addresses topics ranging from theodicy and early modern music theory to Spinozas anti-humanism, often critically revising important aspects of the received picture of the Rationalists. Another important contribution of the volume is that it brings out aspects of Rationalist philosophers and their legacies that are not ordinarily associated with them, such as the project of a Cartesian ethics. Finally, a strong emphasis is placed on the connection of the Rationalists philosophy to their interests in empirical science, to their engagement in the political life of their era, and to the religious background of many of their philosophical commitments.The Rationalists provides a balanced overview of those associated with the rationalist movement, presenting a sharper depiction of their intellectual contexts and sources. Topics range from theodicy and early modern music theory to Spinozas anti-humanism.Introduction; Carlos Fraenkel, Dario Perinetti, Justin Smith.- Part I Continuities between the Premodern and the Modern.- 1. Descartes on the Human Nature and the Human Good; Lisa Shapiro.- 2. Spinoza on Philosophy and Religion: The Averroistic Sources; Carlos Fraenkel.- 3. Music, Mechanics and Mixed Mathematics; Alison Laywine.- Part II Creating Traditions.- 4. Ethics in Descartes and Seventeenth Century Cartesian Textbooks; Roger Ariew.- 5. Louis Bourguet and the Model of Organic Bodies; Fran?ois Duchesneau.- Part III Rethinking Spinoza.- 6. Nemo non videt: Intuitive Knowledge and the Question of Spinozas Elitism; Hasana Sharp.- 7. Rationalism versus Subjective Experience: The Problem of the Two Minds in Spinoza; Syliane Malinowski-Charles.- Part IVl3£