Modern Philosophy
From the Renaissance to the the Age of Enlightenment
(17th and 18th Centuries)
Sixteenth century philosophy was a unique synthesis of several philosophical frameworks, a blend of old and new: Scholasticism, Humanism, Neo-Thomism, Aristotelianism, and Stoicism.
This is also the period of the Renaissance, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas and achievements of classical antiquity. It occurred after the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages and was associated with great social change
The medieval world order slowly disappears, and a new world becomes visible. Breakthroughs in science and technology work trigger historical changes, new territories are discovered.
Gunpowder, Mid-13th century
Printing Press 1453 Gutenberg
1453 Fall of Constantinople through Ottoman Turks. Final End of Roman Empire.
Columbus discovers America, 1492.
Copernicus proposed the heliocentric universe, 1543.
Galileo (1564-1642) defends it and develops modern astronomy.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) Protestantism
Religious wars in Europe, 1618 - 1648. 30 Year War. "Cuius regio, eius religio."
Process of secularization.
Rise of Nation States, Absolutism, and Political Revolutions.
What are the differences between empiricism, rationalism, and materialism? Empiricism locates the sources of knowledge and belief in the perceived events of the external world. Experience itself is the ultimate authority when we want to know the truth of certain propositions. Rationalism argues that this very experience presupposes necessary rational principles, because without them, there can be no intelligible and coherent melding of experiences into knowledge. Materialism begins with the claim that only physical-material entities have real existence, so any scientifically defensible theory must be based on the processes of the material body, and more specifically, the brain.
These philosophical positions have been developed and debated throughout the history of philosophy. They address the nature of knowledge, reality, and the relationship between the mind and the world. While they share some overlapping concerns, they differ significantly in their fundamental principles and methodologies. Here's a more detailed overview of each, including additional references to historical figures and ideas within the philosophical tradition:
Focuses on the role of experience, particularly sensory perception, in the acquisition of knowledge.
Asserts that all knowledge comes from experience, either directly or indirectly.
Rejects innate ideas, arguing that the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) at birth, as proposed by John Locke in his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding."
Key figures include John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume, and later philosophers like John Stuart Mill, and the Logical Positivists (e.g., A.J. Ayer, Rudolf Carnap).
George Berkeley, in his "Principles of Human Knowledge," developed a form of empiricism known as Idealism or Immaterialism, where all that exists are minds and their ideas, denying the existence of material substances.
Emphasizes the role of reason and intellect in the acquisition of knowledge.
Asserts that some knowledge can be gained through innate ideas or deductive reasoning, independent of sensory experience, as René Descartes argued in his "Meditations on First Philosophy."
Believes that reason is the ultimate source of knowledge and that it can provide a more reliable foundation for knowledge than sensory experience.
Key figures include René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and later philosophers like Immanuel Kant, who attempted to synthesize rationalism and empiricism in his "Critique of Pure Reason."
Spinoza, in his "Ethics," proposed a pantheistic metaphysics where everything is part of a single, infinite substance (God or Nature), and knowledge can be gained through reason and intuition.
A metaphysical position that asserts that everything that exists is material or physical in nature, as Thomas Hobbes argued in his "Leviathan."
Denies the existence of immaterial substances, such as souls or spirits, and maintains that mental states or consciousness are reducible to or can be explained by material processes.
Often associated with a scientific worldview, as it supports the idea that reality can be understood through empirical investigation.
Key figures include Thomas Hobbes, Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and later philosophers like the Logical Positivists and the Analytic tradition (e.g., W.V.O. Quine, Daniel Dennett).
All three positions are concerned with understanding the nature of knowledge and reality.
They are all responses to the philosophical problems of their time and are often pitted against opposing views (e.g., empiricism vs. rationalism, materialism vs. idealism).
They all involve some form of epistemology, or the study of knowledge and justified belief.
Empiricism and rationalism differ primarily in their views on the sources of knowledge: empiricists focus on sensory experience, while rationalists emphasize reason and intellect.
Materialism is a metaphysical position, focusing on the nature of reality rather than the sources of knowledge. It does, however, have implications for epistemology, as it often supports a naturalistic, empirical approach to understanding the world.
Empiricism and rationalism can be compatible with either materialism or its opposing view, idealism (e.g., George Berkeley's subjective idealism), depending on the specific philosophical stance one takes on the nature of reality and the mind-body problem.
In summary, while empiricism, rationalism, and materialism share some common concerns in the realm of knowledge and reality, they differ significantly in their views on the sources of knowledge and the nature of reality itself.
What do they all have (philosophically speaking) in common?
What has shifted in the philosophical starting points from the prior periods?
How does metaphysics interact with anthropology in these thinkers?
Looking back from today's vantage point, what do we think about this kind of rationalism and early Enlightenment philosophy?