Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750

There is today still ungoing intense debate between atheists and religionists, and this debate can be highly vitriolic at times. In large measure, and this depends on the country in which one lives, no one is being thrown in jail for having atheistic beliefs, and books expousing atheism are not banned or systematically burned. Some are still murdered for speaking out against certain religious sects, and religious fanaticism still continues without abatement. But one can argue with some confidence that these are better times for atheists and amoralists, although of course there is still a considerable ways to go before the world as a whole is comfortable with these classes of individuals.As the author of this book shows, this was not the case for the time period (1650 - 1750). Books expousing anti-Christian ideas or challenging the religious status quo were frequently burned, and those responsible for their authorship were either jailed or run out of the country. It took a strong character to be an atheist in this time period, at least one that is delivers public utterances, either verbal or in writing. Modern life has much to thank for these types of individuals, and depending on what your opinion is on the French revolution and other disruptive social events that occurred after this time period (and the author argues profoundly influenced), one could assert that the modern world is a direct consequence of their activities and philosophical musings. Intestinal fortitude and keen intellectual abilities were their trademark, and the reverberations of their cognitive powers are still being felt centuries later.The author refers to these individuals as the "philosophical radicalists" and they go by such names as Bendict Spinoza, van den Enden, Ludewijk Meyer, Pierre Bayle, Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, Frederik van Leenhof, John Toland, Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, Theodor Ludwig Lau, Glambattista Vico, and Pietro Giannone. So pretty much all of Europe was represented, and the churches and political officials in the respective countries dealt with these individuals according to various degrees of tolerance. One gets the impression when reading the book that many in the governments at the time were somewhat fascinated by their writings, such as Frederick the Great, and others who had the audacity to pick up one of their manuscripts and give it more than passive consideration. The philosophical radicalists were in general met with violence though, and their works survived only because of various clandestine movements that continued to publish them.The Devil died in this time period (the death of God had to wait to the 1960's) and one saw the rise of the "virtuous atheist." The latter designation exemplifed a challenge to an ethics based solely on religion, and it instigated severe back reaction among conservatives, and still does. Scientific debate on ethics currently is done mostly in the context of cognitive neuroscience, and even though one could argue it underdetermines a theory of ethical conduct, it owes much to the individuals the author brings to light in this book. The conducting of scientific research in general requires freedom of inquiry of the type advocated by these philosophical radicalists, although it is quite ironic that even the "giants" of science of the time, namely Issac Newton, Gottfried Leibniz, and Robert Boyle, were antithetic to them.The "making of modernity" instigated by the philosophical radicalists is still an ongoing project, and their attempts to discredit social and political hierarchies, establish a morality independent of religion, and challenge the status quo are amplified today by modern technology, and the pace of dissemination has an amazing rapidity. Being a free-thinker, a libertine, or advocating social disruption is assisted by the "liquid" nature of modern life, to use a designation of the philosopher Zygmunt Bauman, and social change now is more celebrated than abhorred, even for the sake of it. Conceptual and political anarchy seem to be inconsequential in modern life, and if the philosophical radicalists were alive today they would no doubt be astonished by the consequences of what they wrote down just a few centuries ago. They would certainly revel in the exhilirating and disruptive logic of the twenty-first century, a century which these rogues and nomads of thought assisted in creating.Note: This book was read and studied between Dec 2010 and Nov 2011.

Jonathan Israel is nothing short of substantive in his sweeping overview of the Enlightenment from Descartes to Rousseau. This book is absolutely massive and incredibly dense. I do not think anyone can say that Israel was light on his research. Despite the density, he is very concise with what he is saying and does not waste any time providing the reader with fluff. The basic gist of his work is that many radicals spawned from the discussions of Cartesianism - namely Spinoza - which led to further philosophic, scientific, political, and social developments as ecclesiastical, aristocratic, and monarchical authority was seriously questioned. Beginning with Spinoza's radical arguments, other thinkers follow in suit - radical, moderate, and religious. Israel includes many different viewpoints and does each side justice, albeit with some mildly snide remarks for the conservative points of view (which he presents properly). He does a wonderful presentation of Spinoza, but his explanations of other thinkers are a bit watered-down. While he dedicates an entire chapter to explaining Spinoza, he gives only bullet-points for Descartes, Hobbes, Malebranche, Newton, Locke, Leibniz, and Wolff. Nonetheless, his book stands as a solid 21st century assertion of the modernization thesis - which I agree with. Israel's explanations are extraordinarily in-depth and he presents many thinkers long forgotten until now in the Anglophone world. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in studying the Enlightenment. If you have never encountered this topic before, however, I suggest beginning with something lighter. He does not provide much context and it is clearly written for people with a basic grasp of the subject. Another annoying thing he does is make direct quotes without translations. It is not that much of a problem for someone who does not read French, but it is still somewhat annoying when he inserts several quotes in other languages, often without translations.The only thing that Israel failed to do was detail his arguments more succinctly and organize his book better. It is easy to understand if you read the whole thing, but he does not present the main points of each chapter and provides no recap or summary of what he aims to point out in each chapter. And, while I respect him very much, his chronology in this book could have been handled better. Overall, however, it is masterfully done and his scholarship is top-notch.

"Radical Enlightenment" is one of the great historical works published in recent years, and should be essential reading for anyone interested in early modern European history, European intellectual history, or the Enlightenment, generally. Focusing chiefly on northern Europe and the impact of Spinoza on Western thought, the author ties together the key and not so key philosophical debates of the Radical Enlightenment from Hobbes and Descartes to the French Revolution, while also linking these to the rise of great libraries, the decline of witchcraft trials, the emergence of republicanism, the covert dissemination of clandestine literature, and gradual evolution of other issues that I had not considered directly linked to the spread of Enlightenment philosophies. It's not light reading - debates on mind and matter, or the impact of Deism on 17th Century Christianity, for instance, bear re-study - but the author has a lively style that makes this text a page-turner. The only irritant - and it's a minor one - is Dr. Israel's assumption that the reader speaks French; the text is shot through with quotations in that language, often several per page, and I sometimes felt I missed key points by having to skip over so many passages. Still, the French is usually close enough to English to get the general thrust of the sentence, but it would be useful if the next edition offered at least occasional translations.This is a great book on a really fascinating topic. Buy it and read it.

Excellent publication and very pleased to have this particular book in my home collection!Thank you seller.

I bumped into Jonathan Israel in a footnote from a book by Justin Smith about how race was “invented” in the early modern period, and grounded in the insertion into nature of human beings in our philosophical understanding of ourselves.This happens to also be the moment of the Radical Enlightenment: departing from Cartesian dualism, the Radical Enlightenment collapses our understanding of the world into one material substance… and from there, the old order crumbled. Jonathan Israel writes for the well-versed layman and the academic scholar. He expects you to know most of the characters he introduces, their key ideas, as well as the historical period they operated in. A smackering of French and Latin are also helpful (as he does not consistently translate his quotations). It’s been a great journey googling and going down all sorts of new rabbits holes. He takes the reader through each step of the Radical Enlightenment, culminating in Spinoza and Spinoza’s system and it’s implications for the religious and political establishment (devastating). One learns along the way a lot about the underground book trade and the cat and mouse between philosophers, printers, and the police/inquisition.I’m halfway through the book and love every page. The unapologetic and flaming narrative is a joy to read and witness. It’s putting all those who dared to think clearly and dared to imagine freedom, autonomy, and truth that so touches me. It’s a magnificent endeavor and I am so thankful that Israel has written his 4 part magnum opus on the Radical Enlightenment and it’s legacy. I now ordered all 4 books and look forward to at least a year’s worth of great reading.If like me, you always wondered how the Enlightenment that culminated in the American and French Revolutions could possibly have ended in the Terror and Napoleon in France, and how those strong rays became obscured in the 19th and 20th centuries, this is the place to start your reading. I’m excited about what I will learn. Although I have read much of the original texts of the philosophers themselves (esp. Spinoza), Israel has put everything together in a very holistic, coherent, and exciting way so that it reads like a thriller or a crime novel.A must read for anyone interested in the history of ideas.

La triade di cui fa parte è una vera miniera inesauribile di contenuti e spunti, offre un quadro estremamente complesso, composito ed equilibrato. Sebbene l'autore sia un esperto di pensiero olandese, la copertura su Francia, Germania, Italia, ecc. è valida ed efficace. Da questo testo possono partire innumerevoli piste di ricerca, consigliato ad ogni studente universitario o dottorando che venga ad occuparsi del periodo tra seicento e settecento, essendo giustamente la posizione dell'autore per un "lungo Illuminismo". L'unico difette veniale della collana è di aver dato un sottotitolo cronologico alle tre opere, come se fossero cronologicamente divise, ma così non è. La divisione è per argomenti sviscerati in grande profondità attraverso tutti i tre testi. Per cui l'interessato a specifici decenni comunque deve affrontare la consultazione delle tre opere e quindi in tal caso acquistarle tutte. Gli indici di nomi ed argomenti rendono la consultazione che altrimenti sarebbe molto difficoltosa estremamente agevole.Buona lettura.

The most important book I have read in 10 years.

Everthing was fine.