Thoughts On The Interpretation Of Nature

This anthology includes an English translation of Pensees sur l'Interpretation de la Nature, a work attacking the state of science in the mid-18th century.

A new translation of Denis Diderot's 1751 On the Interpretation of Nature from the original French manuscript into American English. This edition contains an afterword by the translator on Diderot's philosophic legacy, a timeline of his works and life, and a glossary of philosophic terminology utilized in his works. "Thoughts on the Interpretation of Nature" is a philosophical work by Denis Diderot in which he delves into the nature of scientific inquiry and the methods of interpreting the natural world. Diderot critically examines the prevailing scientific practices of his time and challenges the notion that a single, fixed interpretation of nature is attainable. He argues for a more comprehensive approach to scientific observation, emphasizing the importance of considering the interconnectedness and complexity of natural phenomena and pushing back on some of the Enlightenment's untethered rationalism. Diderot's scientific works had a significant impact on subsequent philosophical and scientific discussions in the French and German intellectual worlds. The work laid the groundwork for a more holistic understanding of the natural world and influenced the development of scientific methodologies. Diderot's ideas resonated with other philosophers and intellectuals of the Enlightenment period, who recognized the importance of embracing a multidimensional perspective in scientific inquiry. Denis Diderot is a critical figure of the Enlightenment who receives little attention from modern day philosophers. Diderot lived in the shadow of Rousseau and Volatire, whom he knew and worked with.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This lively and accessible introduction to Plato focuses on the philosophy and argument of his writings, drawing the reader into Plato's way of doing philosophy, and the general themes of his thinking. This is not a book to leave the reader standing in the outer court of introduction and background information, but leads directly into Plato's argument. It looks at Plato as a thinker grappling with philosophical problems in a variety of ways, rather than a philosopher with a fully worked-out system. It includes a brief account of Plato's life and the various interpretations that have been drawn from the sparse remains of information. It stresses the importance of the founding of the Academy and the conception of philosophy as a subject. Julia Annas discusses Plato's style of writing: his use of the dialogue form, his use of what we today call fiction, and his philosophical transformation of myths. She also looks at his discussions of love and philosophy, his attitude to women, and to homosexual love, explores Plato's claim that virtue is sufficient for happiness, and touches on his arguments for the immortality of the soul and his ideas about the nature of the universe. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Do the gods love you? Cicero gives deep and surprising answers in two philosophical dialogues on traditional Roman religion.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1889 Edition.

Robin Douglass presents the first comprehensive study of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's engagement with Thomas Hobbes. He reconstructs the intellectual context of this engagement to reveal the deeply polemical character of Rousseau's critique of Hobbes and to show how Rousseau sought to expose that much modern natural law and doux commerce theory was, despite its protestations to the contrary, indebted to a Hobbesian account of human nature and the origins of society. Throughout the book Douglass explores the reasons why Rousseau both followed and departed from Hobbes in different places, while resisting the temptation to present him as either a straightforwardly Hobbesian or anti-Hobbesian thinker. On the one hand, Douglass reveals the extent to which Rousseau was occupied with problems of a fundamentally Hobbesian nature and the importance, to both thinkers, of appealing to the citizens' passions in order to secure political unity. On the other hand, Douglass argues that certain ideas at the heart of Rousseau's philosophy—free will and the natural goodness of man—were set out to distance him from positions associated with Hobbes. Douglass advances an original interpretation of Rousseau's political philosophy, emerging from this encounter with Hobbesian ideas, which focuses on the interrelated themes of nature, free will, and the passions. Douglass distances his interpretation from those who have read Rousseau as a proto-Kantian and instead argues that his vision of a well-ordered republic was based on cultivating man's naturally good passions to render the life of the virtuous citizen in accordance with nature.