A History of Western Philosophy, Volume 3: Hobbes to Hume

by W.T. Jones, Robert J. Fogelin

A HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY examines the nature of philosophical enterprise and philosophy's role in Western culture. Jones and Fogelin weave key passages from classic philosophy works into their comments and criticisms, giving A HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY the combined advantages of a source book and textbook. The text concentrates on major figures in each historical period, combining exposition with direct quotations from the philosophers themselves. The text places philosophers in appropriate cultural context and shows how their theories reflect the concerns of their times.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

381 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1969

Reviews

[Clay Kallam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copernicus, Galileo and Newton opened the eyes of the West to the power of reason. With observation, measurement, experiment and logic, the physical world was revealed as a law-abiding one -- and the natural next step was to apply the tools of reason to the social and mental world of human beings.

Sadly, as we now know, the messy lives we live are not governed by rules that can be manipulated to create a just society. Reason may lead to certain conclusions about human nature, but observation has shown that reasonable expectations are too often trumped by emotional, illogical and eventually self-defeating decisions.

W.T. Jones' third book in his excellent series covers the various paths that reason led down, from the chilling impersonality of Hobbes and Spinoza to the attempts by Descartes and Leibniz to preserve the status of God and the dictates of Christian morality. In the end, the doubts raised by each thinker against the systems of the others coalesced in the corrosive writing of David Hume, who used reason to show that reason had its limitations, and that to expect a perfect system -- rivaling that of Newton's physics -- to emerge from 17th and 18th century Western confusion was a fool's game.

Jones does an excellent job of tracing this philosophical journey, and highlights how these themes still resonate today. After all, the American system of government that is still with us is straight from the notebooks of John Locke, and the battle to reconcile faith and reason is ongoing.

Still, in the rush to teach everyone about science, technology, engineering and math, we are losing sight of the philosophical foundations of the world we live in -- and as a result, we are surprised when things don't turn out as we confidently expect they will. The lesson of this book, in many ways, is that to equate the "hard" sciences of STEM with the "soft" sciences of creating a just and satisfying society is a fundamental mistake, a mistake that will continue to haunt us until we finally concede that reason and logic are not the only paths to wisdom.

[Arianne X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discovered or Developed?

In this wonderful anthology of early modern philosophy, Professor Jones shows us how the Medieval consensus broke down and was replaced with the Enlightenment consensus that in turn carried with it the seeds of its own breakdown.

The only area of concern I have is in the lack of distinction between concepts of developed and discovered in the discussion on p. 222 with respect to the infinitesimal calculus. Professor Jones presents the calculus as being developed to deal with the newly discovered features of the physical world. I would have liked to have seen more discussion as to whether the calculus was developed or in fact discovered. That is, a discussion of the Platonic versus the Kantian view of mathematics. It was 'developed' separately and very likely independently by Newton and Leibniz. This fact is suggestive that it was discovered not invented. I find myself on the invented, or Kantian side of the question given Russell's Paradox and the Incompleteness Theorems by Kurt Godel.

[Adam Marischuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the first three volumes, I would argue that this one is the weakest volume mostly because it should have been the easiest. The subject of modern philosophy has been delt with many times, from the encyclopedic Copleston to the combative Russell, modern philosophy is likely the best documented, understood and analyzed period of thought. Additionally, the modern philosophical method of writing should lend itself naturally to Jones' use of extended quotations.

However, the book is slow off the start, with over 100 pages dedicated to 'setting the scene' (chapters on the Renaissance, the Reformation and Science and the Scientific Method are only peripherally related to modern philosophy) before (finally) getting to Hobbes.

Jones does a good job throughout the series balancing the philosophers and focusing on the major players and the major themes. One volume for the Classical period, one for the Medieval, one for Hobbes to Hume and finally one from Kant to Wittgenstein and Sartre strikes a good balance, not overemphasizing or ignoring any period. He later added the fifth volume Quine to Derrida bringing the series relatively up-to-date.

The third volume From Hobbes to Hume includes chapters on:

1) Renaissance
2) Reformation
3) Science and the Scientific Method
4) Hobbes
5) Descartes
6) Spinoza
7) Leibniz
8) Locke
9) Berkeley
10) Hume

[Nixon Sucuc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has been a very helpful guide to understanding the main figures in the history of western philosophy for me. It certainly is a very accessible work for the beginner in philosophy.
This third volume on the systems of the philosophers of the Reinassance through the Enlightenment has been my favorite of the series. With the discussion on the role of philosophers in the scientific revolution and the account on the roots of the problems in modern philosophy, it has helped me to make more sense of the causes of the advances and problems and difficulties we are facing in today's culture.
Next up, Kant and the Nineteenth Century. If we want to fight the crucial intellectual battles to save the Enlightenment from this age of unreason, we have to understand what we are fighting.

[Valdemar Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very good book although some of the qoutes from the continental rationalists are hard to understand.

[Irwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took an intro to philosophy in my early years in the Univ of Oslo. It was obligatory and not a few fellow students fussed about it. I, a little strangely, found it interesting. It was my first formal exposure to the western philosophy.

Had to read this book, some chapters are obligatory, some others I did if for fun when I had the time :-)
Not so easy reading though......