462. Freedom to Philosophize: Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy
What is Enlightenment, anyway?
Themes:
• J. Alexander, “Radical, Sceptical and Liberal Enlightenment,” Journal of the Philosophy of History 14 (2020), 257-83.
• J.C.D. Clark, Thomas Paine: Britain, America and France in the Age of Enlightenment and Revolution (Oxford: 2018).
• J.C.D. Clark, The Enlightenment: an Idea and Its History (Oxford: 2024).
• L. Dupré, The Enlightenment and the Intellectual Foundations of Modern Culture (New Haven: 2004).
• P. Gay, The Enlightenment: An Interpretation, 2 vols (London: 1967 and 1970).
• G. Himmelfarb, The Roads to Modernity: The British, French and American Enlightenments (New York: Vintage Books, 2004).
• J. Israel, Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity, 1650–1750 (Oxford: 2001).
• J. Israel, Enlightenment Contested: Philosophy, Modernity and the Emancipation of Man, 1670–1752 (Oxford: 2006).
• J. Israel, Democratic Enlightenment: Philosophy, Revolution and Human Rights, 1750–1790 (Oxford: 2011).
• M.C. Jacob, The Radical Enlightenment: Pantheists, Freemasons and Republicans (London: 1981).
• N. Geras and R. Wokler (eds), The Enlightenment and Modernity (New York: 2000).
• J.G.A. Pocock, “Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment, Revolution and Counter- Revolution; A Eurosceptical Enquiry,” History of Political Thought 20 (1999), 125–39.
• J.G.A. Pocock, “Historiography and Enlightenment: A View of Their History,” Modern Intellectual History 5 (2008), 83–96.
• R. Porter, Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World (London: 2000).
• R. Porter and M. Teich (ed.), The Enlightenment in National Context (Cambridge: 1981).
• J. Robertson, The Case for the Enlightenment: Scotland and Naples 1680-1760 (Cambridge: 2005).
• J. Robertson, The Enlightenment: a Very Short Introduction (Oxford: 2015).
• J. Schmidt (ed.), What is Enlightenment? Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions (Berkeley: 1996).
• F. Venturi, Utopia and Reform in the Enlightenment (Cambridge: 1971).
• I.O. Wade, The Intellectual Origins of the French Enlightenment (Princeton: 1971).
Comments
Comenius
Hello,
are you also planning to cover John/Ioannes Amos Comenius?
In reply to Comenius by MMT
Comenius
Oh yes for sure! But not for a while as he'll be in the Germany/Eastern Europe part.
Every day we stray further…
Every day we stray further from G̶o̶d̶'̶s̶ ̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ the Middle Ages ;_;
Still, very reassuring to hear giraffes, taqlīd, and so many figures from much earlier episodes make appearances here.
Time needed to cover enlightenment
I feel like we reached the promised (philosophy) land. Thanks! But did I hear you right? It sounded like you said it will take 250 episodes to cover the 17th and 18th century. That would be 10 years at 2-weeks intervals!
In reply to Time needed to cover enlightenment by Albert
250 episodes
Yes I think it could be that many - or somewhere between 200 and 250 at any rate. I am tentatively planning to change the ratio after the current China series is done, by having 2 European for every 1 non-European episode, which would speed things up. But it will still take a while!
In reply to 250 episodes by Peter Adamson
3 European + 1 Non European Philosophy
Wouldn't it be better for you to do 3 European episodes + 1 non European episode per month, especially when covering Meso-American Philosophy by yourself.
1. You can spend more time compiling scripts for Meso-American as you won't have a partner who specialises in this field who would have already prepared transcripts, also Meso-American Philosophy isn't that much material to begin with.
2. In the future when you're covering Colonial American Philosophy, you can spend more time searching Spanish and Portuguese archives on these periods. The real tricky part is post Colonial South American Philosophy, perhaps this will be when you'll need a partner who specialises in this field as we have more work on Mexican Philosophy than other countries at this point of time.
3. European Philosophy during this early modern period (17th/18th century) and the next epoch (Age of Revolution?) is incredibly long, spending 3 European episodes per year would increase your current 22 episodes on Western Philosophy you've been on ever since back in late 2015 when you started Classical Indian Philosophy.
4. You don't plan on continuing with Classical India or Classical China anytime soon thus there is no need to spend twice a month on that feed.
So I suggest 3 European episodes followed by a non Western episode.
In reply to 3 European + 1 Non European Philosophy by dukeofethereal
3 to 1
Yes, I am still pondering that. To be honest the Descartes episodes I am working on now are bringing home to me how much work it will be to cover early modern topics! There is just so much to read. So I am not sure anymore that doing European ones more often will help me stay on schedule. But of course it would help me get through the mountain of topics that need covering and it's clear that audience interest in the European topics is stronger.
Exciting
Very Exciting!
Kant's esotericism, Maimonides, Strauss
Kant's stance on the subversive nature of philosophy vis-a-vis the polis seems to connect back to Maimonides, and Strauss's rather controversial attribution of such "saving the polis from disruption" or "saving oneself from persecution" hidden intents to philosophical writing across the canon. I do remain skeptical of Straussian reading, for much the same readings you outline in the Maimonides episode: it ignores the philosophical import of explicit meaning (treating it as exoteric, 'safe' expression for the masses), in favour of a/the hidden meaning intended only for the careful 'philosophical puppies' (a phrase from Strauss's essay Persecution and the Art of Writing). Kant wait for the rest of the series (and giraffe cameos!).
In reply to Kant's esotericism, Maimonides, Strauss by G. Tarun
Kant
I Kant believe you beat me to being the first to use that pun!
But seriously, could Spinoza be a conduit between Maimonides and Kant, I wonder? I'll keep this in mind going forward.
Congratulations Peter!
Can't believe we are here at last! Philosophically I'm more of an ancient/medieval type, but modern philosophy gets so extreme in its ideas that it's always terrific fun!
I normally listen to the podcasts while driving, but for this episode I plan to celebrate listening with a beer in hand. Dutch or German if I can. Cheers!
In reply to Congratulations Peter! by Alfredo
Dutch or German
Tough choice, so maybe a Belgian beer to split the difference? But seriously, thanks! I am more of an ancient/medieval type too of course and have already been learning loads as I work on this new series.
Hidden joke ?
Hi Peter,
At approximately 21:30 you may have Galileo saying:
Biblical passages that may seem to show that the earth goes around the sun need to be reinterpreted in light of scientific proofs, in favour of geocentrism.
In a very convincing way
In reply to Hidden joke ? by Erik Holkers
Geocentrism
Oops, no that is just a mistake - thanks for catching this!
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