Modern Renaissance

The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Philosophy provides an introduction to a complex period of change in the subject matter and practice of philosophy. The philosophy of the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries is often seen as transitional between the scholastic philosophy of the Middle Ages a... More

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) is known for his innovative method of philosophical inquiry which mixes the anecdotal and the personal with serious critiques of human knowledge, politics and the law. His rejection of fanaticism and cruelty and his admiration for the civilizations of the New World ma... More

The idea that the Renaissance witnessed the emergence of the modern individual remains a powerful myth. In this important new book Martin examines the Renaissance self with attention to both social history and literary theory and offers a new typology of Renaissance selfhood which was at once collec... More

The book is an exposition of the 'nature and constitution of human being'. In the light of the doctrines of Vedanta which echoes the Upanishadic, message, there is one only without a second. Hardbound... More

Philosopher Paul Kurtz describes the many ways in which secular humanism's scientific, philosophical, and ethical outlook has exerted a profound influence on civilization from the ancient world to the present.... More

Lays the groundwork for a humanist agenda in the 21st century with its focus on the need for political, economic, and social action.Lays the groundwork for a humanist agenda in the 21st century with its focus on the need for political, economic, and social action.... More

Witty, influential work by one of the greatest scholars of the Renaissance satirizes the shortcomings of the upper classes and religious institutions. Required reading for humanities classes, this literary gem is ripe with vignettes and caricatures -- with Folly, a metaphor for stupidity, the center... More

Niccolo Machiavelli taught that political leaders must be prepared to do evil that good may come of it, and his name has been a byword ever since for duplicity and immorality. Is his sinister reputation deserved? In answering this question Quentin Skinner focuses on three major works, The Prince, th... More

This Norton Critical Edition provides a wide selection of Erasmus's writings, translated from the Latin into fresh, modern, and witty English. Adams has made these selections to emphasize the humane, rather than the doctrinaire, side of the first and greatest humanist.... More

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) is one of the most important figures of the early modern era. His plan for scientific reform played a central role in the birth of the new science. The essays in this volume offer a comprehensive survey of his writings on science, including his classifications of sciences, ... More

Kurtz outlines the main characteristics of happiness and uses critical thinking to demonstrate how wisdom can be applied to a life of commitment and passion.Kurtz outlines the main characteristics of happiness and uses critical thinking to demonstrate how wisdom can be applied to a life of commitmen... More

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is the father of modern philosophy, and one of the greatest of all thinkers. This is the first intellectual biography of Descartes in English; it offers a fundamental reassessment of all aspects of his life and work.Rene Descartes's insights into the nature of knowledge an... More

Michel de Montaigne has always been acknowledged as a great literary figure but never thought of as a philosophical original. This book is the first to treat him as a serious thinker in his own right, taking as its point of departure Montaigne's description of himself as "an unpremeditated and accid... More

The interpretive literature in the history of political thought is now vast, complex and esoteric, posing as much a barrier to the understanding of the undergraduate student as it offers assistance. This unique and innovative text provides the student with a guide through this maze of argument. Each... More