Ideas and mechanism : essays on early modern philosophy / Margaret Dauler Wilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wilson, Margaret Dauler, 1939-1998, author.

Series:

Princeton Legacy Library

Princeton Legacy Library ; 75

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Descartes, René, 1596-1650.

Descartes, René.

Berkeley, George, 1685-1753.

Berkeley, George.

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1646-1716.

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm.

Philosophy, Modern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (545 p.)

Edition:

Core Textbook

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [1999]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For more than three decades, Margaret Wilson's essays on early modern philosophy have influenced scholarly debate. Many are considered classics in the field and remain as important today as they were when they were first published. Until now, however, they have never been available in book form and some have been particularly difficult to find. This collection not only provides access to nearly all of Wilson's most significant work, but also demonstrates the continuity of her thought over time. These essays show that Wilson possesses a keen intelligence, coupled with a fearlessness in tackling the work of early modern philosophers as well as the writing of modern commentators. Many of the pieces collected here respond to philosophical issues of continuing importance.The thirty-one essays gathered here deal with some of the best known early philosophers, including Descartes, Leibniz, Locke, Spinoza, and Berkeley. As this collection shows, Wilson is a demanding critic. She repeatedly asks whether the philosophers' arguments were adequate to the problems they were trying to solve and whether these arguments remain compelling today. She is not afraid to engage in complex argument but, at the same time, her own writing remains clear and fresh. Ideas and Mechanism is an essential collection of work by one of the leading scholars of our era.Originally published in 1999.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

EDITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

CHAPTER 1. Skepticism without Indubitability

CHAPTER 2. Descartes on Sense and "Resemblance"

CHAPTER 3. Descartes on the Perception of Primary Qualities

CHAPTER 4. Descartes on the Origin of Sensation

CHAPTER 5. Descartes on the Representationality of Sensation

CHAPTER 6. Descartes; The Epistemological Argument for Mind-Body Distinctness

CHAPTER 7. True and Immutable Natures

CHAPTER 8. Can I Be the Cause of My Idea of the World? (Descartes on the Infinite and Indefinite)

CHAPTER 9. Objects, Ideas, and "Minds"; Comments on Spinoza's Theory of Mind

CHAPTER 10. Spinoza's Causal Axiom (Ethics I, Axiom 4)

CHAPTER 11. Infinite Understanding, Scientia intuiliva, and Ethics 1.16

CHAPTER 12. "For They Do Not Agree in Nature with Us": Spinoza on the Lower Animals

CHAPTER 13. Superadded Properties: The Limits of Mechanism in Locke

CHAPTER 14. Discussion: Superadded Properties: A Reply to M. R. Ayers

CHAPTER 15. Did Berkeley Completely Misunderstand the Basis of the Primary-Secondary Quality Distinction in Locke?

CHAPTER 16. Berkeley on the Mind-Dependence of Colors

CHAPTER 17. Berkeley and the Essence of the Corpuscularians

CHAPTER 18. The Issue of "Common Sensibles" in Berkeley's New Theory of Vision

CHAPTER 19. Kant and "The Dogmatic Idealism of Berkeley"

CHAPTER 20. The "Phenomenalisms" of Berkeley and Kant

CHAPTER 21. The "Phenomenalisms" of Leibniz and Berkeley

CHAPTER 22. Confused Ideas

CHAPTER 23. Confused vs. Distinct Perception in Leibniz: Consciousness, Representation, and God's Mind

CHAPTER 24. Leibniz and Locke on "First Truths"

CHAPTER 25. Leibniz: Self-Consciousness and Immortality in the Paris Notes and After

CHAPTER 26. Leibniz and Materialsm

CHAPTER 27. Possible Gods

CHAPTER 28. Leibniz's Dynamics and Contingency in Nature

CHAPTER 29. Compossibility and Law

CHAPTER 30. History of Philosophy in Philosophy Today; and the Case of the Sensible Qualities

CHAPTER 31. Animal Ideas

SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-691-63508-0

0-691-00471-4

1-4008-6498-4

0-691-60630-7

OCLC:

884012772