Enlightenment/Post Enlightenment introductions

[fergatroid]

I am a studying a philosophy/classics major at Melbourne University and was hoping somebody could recommend a number of secondary sources on the main Enlightenment + Post-Enlightenment philosophers by Catholic writers. I am currently reading Feser’s book on Locke. Hope you can help and if you can thank you in advance. Pax.

 

[hicetnunc]

Hi Fergatroid;

I highly recommend **Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry: Encyclopaedia, Genealogy and Tradition by Alasdair MacIntyre. ** MacIntyre compares and contrasts Aristotelian/Scholastic (Tradition) approaches to ethics against the Enlightenment (Encyclopedia) and Post Enlightenment (Genealogy) projects. MacIntrye is not always an easy read, but provides a detailed and compelling acount of where the Enlightenment thinkers began to unwind in reference to moral inquiry.

You might also enjoy** Socrates Meets Descartes: The Father of Philosophy Analyzes the Father of Modern Philosophy’s Discourse on Method** and Socrates Meets Kant: The Father of Philosophy Meets His Most Influential Modern Child, both by Peter Kreeft. Both texts examine Enlightenment philosophy in contrast to pre-Enlightenment approaches to philosophy.

Hope these help.

Good luck!

 

[markeverett49]

Hi Fergatroid;

I highly recommend **Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry: Encyclopaedia, Genealogy and Tradition by Alasdair MacIntyre. ** MacIntyre compares and contrasts Aristotelian/Scholastic (Tradition) approaches to ethics against the Enlightenment (Encyclopedia) and Post Enlightenment (Genealogy) projects. MacIntrye is not always an easy read, but provides a detailed and compelling acount of where the Enlightenment thinkers began to unwind in reference to moral inquiry.

You might also enjoy** Socrates Meets Descartes: The Father of Philosophy Analyzes the Father of Modern Philosophy’s Discourse on Method** and Socrates Meets Kant: The Father of Philosophy Meets His Most Influential Modern Child, both by Peter Kreeft. Both texts examine Enlightenment philosophy in contrast to pre-Enlightenment approaches to philosophy.!

I second the recommendation of MacIntyre’s book. I have read a lot of Kreeft but not the two titles mentioned here—they’re going on my reading list.

I haven’t read Feser’s book on Locke but he has one on philosophy of mind which treats several modern philosophical problems. Also, his “The Last Superstition” shows how some Enlightenment thinkers went wrong after discarding the Scholastics and Aristotle.

 

[levinas12]

***Robert Sokolowski, Phenomenology of the Human Person

Robert Spaemann, Persons***

Note the focus on persons. This may not seem at first relevant but Enlightenment/Post-Enlightenment philosophy struggled (unsuccessfully) with the meaning of “person” in various contexts.

“Person” is fundamentally an “agent of truth”. And there is a huge crisis of “truth” in the Enlightenment/Post-Enlightenment period. So “person” is the key.

 

[hicetnunc]

***Robert Sokolowski, Phenomenology of the Human Person

Robert Spaemann, Persons***

Note the focus on persons. This may not seem at first relevant but Enlightenment/Post-Enlightenment philosophy struggled (unsuccessfully) with the meaning of “person” in various contexts.

“Person” is fundamentally an “agent of truth”. And there is a huge crisis of “truth” in the Enlightenment/Post-Enlightenment period. So “person” is the key.

Two great “thumbs up” recommendations.