| The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers Contributor(s): Becker, Carl L. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0300101503 ISBN-13: 9780300101508 Publisher: Yale University Press OUR PRICE: $17.82 Product Type: Paperback Published: November 2003 Annotation: Here a distinguished American historian challenges the belief that the eighteenth century was essentially modern in its temper. In crystalline prose Carl Becker demonstrates that the period commonly described as the Age of Reason was, in fact, very far from that; that Voltaire, Hume, Diderot, and Locke were living in a medieval world, and that these philosophers "demolished the Heavenly City of St. Augustine only to rebuild it with more up-to-date materials." In a new foreword, Johnson Kent Wright looks at the book's continuing relevance within the context of current discussion about the Enlightenment. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | History & Surveys - General - Philosophy | Religious |
| Dewey: 190.903 |
| Series: Yale Nota Bene |
| Physical Information: 0.52" H x 5.68" W x 7.1" (0.34 lbs) 208 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Here a distinguished American historian challenges the belief that the eighteenth century was essentially modern in its temper. In crystalline prose Carl Becker demonstrates that the period commonly described as the Age of Reason was, in fact, very far from that; that Voltaire, Hume, Diderot, and Locke were living in a medieval world, and that these philosophers "demolished the Heavenly City of St. Augustine only to rebuild it with more up-to-date materials." In a new foreword, Johnson Kent Wright looks at the book's continuing relevance within the context of current discussion about the Enlightenment. "Will remain a classic--a beautifully finished literary product."--Charles A. Beard, American Historical Review "The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers remains one of the most distinctive American contributions to the historical literature on the Enlightenment. . . . It] is likely to beguile and provoke readers for a long time to come."--Johnson Kent Wright, from the foreword |