[v. 1] From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment.--v. 2. From the German Enlightenment to the age of Darwin.

Looks at issues such as, the intellectual outlook of Medieval Christendom, the Renaissance, the order of nature in the 17th and 18th centuries, and thought and aspiration in the 19th and 20th centuries.

THIS VOLUME owcs its existence to the suggestion and the persuasive insistence of my friend and colleague Justus Buchler... the unpublished papers dealing with "the theory of history" and “the theory of nature” bulked large enough to form a volume in themselves. Hence the volume appears ...with [these] essays in philosophic analysis of two themes that have for some years been central in my own interests. -/- Each of the two Parts deals with a unified theme, and the two together (...) not only exhibit, it is hoped, a consistent philosophic attitude and approach, but also treat two different aspects of what is a common metaphysical inquiry. Aside from the prologue and the epilogue, none of these papers has appeared in this form before... History and nature together offer the great challenge to the philosophic mind. [Excerpt from Foreword]. (shrink)

A collection of essays on the theory of history and the theory of nature. Topics include the genetic method and historical determinism, historical decision, the nature of metaphysics, empirical pluralism and unification of nature, ways of construing mind and intelligibility, and others.

From the medieval worldview to the modern outlook, this work presents a sweeping intellectual history in one volume. The emphasis is on ideas in their historical setting, on how modes of thought emerge, grow, influence and react to one another, and die. The result is a grand synthesis of the main currents in western thought, bringing together religion, philosophy, politics, science, economics, literature and the arts, and the social and behavioral sciences- all the diverse systems man has devised in his (...) effort to understand, interpret, and shape human experience. (shrink)

The sequel to Volumes I and II of John Herman Randall, Jr.'s acclaimed history of modern philosophy, "The Career of Philosophy," This volume contains the ...

Continues the account of major philosophical currents in the west from Book 1. Shows the way philosophers reacted to the science of Galileo and Newton.

This is an analysis of the relation of green to nineteenth century thought. The author believes that green stands for three ideas. First, He is the major nineteenth century critic of utilitarianism. Second, He is the main critic of laissez-Faire individualism. Third, He is the major critic of empiricism. Green believed that experience is identical with thought; the real world is the intelligible world. The human mind, In knowing, Establishes relations with the eternal mind. The author concludes that green is (...) both a platonist and an augustinian, Eliminating particulars, Or feelings, From philosophical importance. (staff). (shrink)

The author sets forth the relevance of philosophy's past to present day concerns and issues. He shows how philosophizing has arisen from and played a central role in the complex process of cultural change. The author maintains that awareness of past experience throws light on present choices, and he demonstrates how classic visions of philosophy can liberate men from provincialism, insularity, and narrowness of outlook.