A Revolution of the Mind by Jonathan Israel
During the revolutionary decades of the 1770s, 1780s, and 1790s, the Radical Enlightenment burst into the open, only to provoke a long and bitter backlash. In telling this fascinating history, this work reveals the origin of our most cherished values - and helps explain why in certain circles they are frequently disapproved of and attacked.
Spinoza's radicalism was certainly frightening in its time, and Israel has valuably if aggressively opened the question of its influence on the Enlightenment and the era of revolution-- Samuel Moyn Nation Israel is right to emphasize the importance of this intellectual movement, but since his is such a sweeping revision of so many generations of received ideas, his work raises the question of why the radical Enlightenment has been misunderstood or obscured for so long in favor of such colorful figures as Voltaire (in Israel's telling, a witty, snobbish sycophant)... We are lucky that a historian of Israel's caliber has taken these subjects on and lucky, too, that he has now produced a readable introduction to them. -- Benjamin Moser Harper's Magazine Israel's reasoned assertion for the influence of the Radical Enlightenment on democratic thought is certainly compelling, making this essential reading for students of the Enlightenment era as well as anyone interested in the foundations of modern democracy. Library Journal Israel's new book is a breathtaking rethinking of the Enlightenment and its impact in the modern world. Choice Perhaps no active scholar has shaped the conversation about the sources and meaning of the Enlightenment more than Jonathan Israel... Almost miraculously, Israel manages to embody the greatest intellectual virtues and vices. Christian Century
Jonathan Israel is professor of modern history at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He is in the process of finishing a monumental three-volume history of the Radical Enlightenment, the first two volumes of which, "Radical Enlightenment" and "Enlightenment Contested", have already been published.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691142005 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691142009 |
| Title | A Revolution of the Mind |
| Author | Jonathan Israel |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2009-11-15 |
| Number of pages | 296 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |