Vestlig filosofi: oplysningstiden

Danmark har en fremtrædende plads i historien som torturnation, og i Oplysningstiden var Danmark en af de allerflittigste nationer i Europa til fuldt lovligt at bruge tortur for at fremtvinge tilståelser. Men det er stort set forbigået i dansk historieskrivning. I 1500- og 1600-tallet blev hundredvis af dødsdømte hekse og tyve tortureret, og mellem 1686 og 1837 blev flere tusinde tyveritiltalte tortureret i den københavnske inkvisitionskommission. Brug af tortur i Danmark adskiller sig på flere punkter fra den generelle europæiske udvikling. Vi fik tidligt – allerede i 1547 – forbud mod at benytte tortur, undtagen når en forbryder allerede var dødsdømt. Men lige så bemærkelsesværdig er legaliseringen i Danmark af tortur i 1772 på et tidspunkt hvor Europas førende lande afskaffede tortur. Bogen kortlægger brugen af tortur og de politiske overvejelser om det. Desuden dykker den ned i de tortureredes verden gennem konkrete sager og en række tætte skildringer af kriminaliteten i København.

I 1726 rejser den franske forfatter Voltaire til England. Tre år senere vender han hjem som engelsk filosof. Som vidnesbyrd om de religiøse, politiske, litterære og naturfilosofiske forhold i England udgiver han ‘Filosofiske breve – om den engelske nation’. Brevene bliver en skandaleombrust succes og grundlægger Voltaires status som den vigtigste af de tidlige Oplysningstænkere.Gennem 25 korte breve giver bogen et fantastisk indblik i, hvordan idéer rejser over landegrænser og sprogbarrierer: Voltaire optræder som kulturel rejseguide, der præsenterer sit franske publikum for religiøs tolerance, politisk frihed og empirisk naturforskning. Han bruger fremmedheden i den engelske kultur som anledning til en kritik af det gamle regime i Frankrig og skaber sig derved en ny rolle som intellektuel kritiker af det bestående. Denne forståelse af filosofiens formål blev en stor inspiration for den næste generation af philosophes, såsom Diderot, d’Alembert og Rousseau, og bliver betragtet som startskuddet til Oplysningsbevægelsen.I deres fyldige efterskrift opridser Christoffer Basse Eriksen og Thomas Palmelund Johansen konteksten for Voltaires breve og deres unikke og komplekse udgivelseshistorie.

Bøger om høflighed hører til de mest populære udgivelser i Frankrig på enevældens tid. De fleste er skrevet som dialoger, breve eller essays, der forsøger at besvare et påtrængende spørgsmål om den korrekte adfærd ved hoffet og i salonerne. Hvordan behager man ved kongens hof? Hvordan bidrager man til den selskabelige munterhed? Hvordan konverserer man?Michael Høxbro Andersen argumenterer for, at disse bøger må læses som et væsentligt indslag i en generel afpolitiseringsproces på enevældens tid. De formede forestillingen om adelsmanden som den fuldendte undersåt, og de var med til at skabe en apolitisk og mondæn offentlighed. Dermed har de præget fransk kultur og litteratur helt frem til i dag.Kunsten at konversere analyserer den franske konversationskunsts lange historie fra dens begyndelse i renæssancen og frem til oplysningsfilosoffernes kritik af den i det 18. århundrede. Bogen indeholder kapitler, der behandler både Michel de Montaigne, Madame de Scudéry, La Rochefoucauld, Jean-Jacques Rousseau og Denis Diderot, men også i dag næsten glemte forfattere som Chevalier de Méré.Michael Høxbro er er lektor på Institut for Engelsk, Romansk og Germansk på Københavns Universitet. Han har publiceret artikler og bøger om både ældre og nyere fransk kultur og litteratur.

En populærvidenskabelig filosofihistorie til enhver med et filosofisk sind.Bogen starter i Grækenland for 2500 år siden, da de første filosoffer, som de senere er blevet kaldt, begynder at forklare verden med fornuft og logik frem for myter og guder. Herfra følger vi, hvordan de store tanker overleveres og udvikles igennem generationer af filosoffer.Illustreret af Karoline Stjernfelt.

Thomas Paines todelte essay MENNESKETS RETTIGHEDER fra 1791-92 var et af de mest indflydelsesrige skrifter i sin samtid. I dag er det et klassisk forsvar for demokrati og lighed. MENNESKETS RETTIGHEDER var i udgangspunktet et forsvar for den franske revolution, men udviklede sig til en mere generelt fortale for demokrati og lighed via en analyse af de fundamentale årsager til utilfredshed i de europæiske samfund og en kur mod onderne forårsaget af vilkårligt styre, fattigdom, analfabetisme, arbejdsløshed og krig. Paine argumenterede for en republikansk styreform frem for monarki og fremlagde en plan for almen uddannelse, fattighjælp, pension til de gamle og beskæftigelsesarbejde til de arbejdsløse. Planen, foreslog han, skulle finansieres af en progressiv indkomstskat. Den herskende klasse i England opfattede Paines forslag som en opfordring til revolution, og styret forbød hans bog og fængslede hans forlægger. Paine selv blev tiltalt for landsforræderi og en arrestordre blev udsendt, men Paine var på dette tidspunkt på vej til Frankrig og slap dermed for tugthuset. ♥♥♥♥♥♥ - Politiken Om forfatteren Thomas Paine, 1737-1809, britisk filosof og amerikansk revolutionær. Thomas Paine udgav i 1776 Common Sense, det første skrift, der argumenterede for amerikansk løsrivelse fra Storbritannien. Efter Amerikas uafhængighed bosatte Paine sig skiftevis i Paris og England, hvor han skrev sit vigtigste værk, MENNESKETS RETTIGHEDER.

I december 2021 var det 30 år siden, at Sofies verden udkom for første gang. Det skulle vise sig at blive et verdensomspændende litterært eventyr. Jostein Gaarders ungdomsroman om vestens filosofihistorie er en international bogsucces uden sidestykke.Og eventyret fortsætter. I år udkommer Sofies verden i et helt nyt format: som en graphic novel i to bind, der giver en vidunderlig mulighed for at introducere nutidens læsere for en sms'ende, feministisk, klimaaktivistisk Sofie.

This book makes connections between selfhood, reading practice and moral judgment which propose fresh insights into Austen's narrative style and offer new ways of reading her work. It grounds her writing in the Enlightenment philosophy of selfhood, exploring how Austen takes five major components of selfhood theory-memory, imagination, probability, sympathy and reflection-and investigates their relation to self-formation and moral judgement. At the same time, Austen's narrative style breaks new ground in the representation of consciousness and engages directly with contemporary concerns about reading practice. Drawing analogies between reading text and reading character, the book argues that Austen's rendering of reading and rereading as both reflective and constitutive acts demonstrates their capacity to enable self-recognition and self-formation. It shows how Austen raises questions about the potential for different readings and, in so doing, challenges her readers to reflect on and reread their own interactions with her texts.

The present book contextualizes Du Chatelet's contribution to the philosophy of her time. The editor offers this tribute to an Epoque Emiliennee as a collection of innovative papers on Emilie Du Chatelet's powerful philosophy and legacy.Du Chatelet was an outstanding figure in the era she lived in. Her work and achievements were unique, though not an exception in the 18th century, which did not lack outstanding women. Her personal intellectual education, her scholarly network and her mental acumen were celebrated in her time, perceiving her to have "e;multiplied nine figures by nine figures in her head"e;. She was able to gain access to institutions which were normally denied to women. To call an epoch an Epoque Emilienne may be seen as daring and audacious, but it will not be the last time if we continue to bring women philosophers back into the memory of the history of philosophy. The contributors paid attention to the philosophical state of the art, which forms the background to Du Chatelet's philosophy. They follow the transformation of philosophical concepts under her pen and retrace the impact of her ideas. The book is of interest to scholars working in the history of philosophy as well as in gender studies. It is of special interest for scholars working on the 18th century, Kant, Leibniz, Wolff, Newton and the European Enlightenment.

Die philosophischen Schriften von Kant, Maimon und Schelling liefern eindeutige Beweise dafür, dass sich im Ausgang von Kants Diagnose der "herumtappenden Metaphysik" ein philosophisches Forschungsprogramm entwickelt, dessen Ziel in der Erforschung von Natur und Methode der Philosophie selbst bestand. Allen Autoren ist gemeinsam, dass sie ihre metaphilosophischen Überlegungen an zwei zentralen Thesen ausrichten: Erstens, dass Philosophie mit einer Untersuchung ihres eigenen Wesens beginnen muss und nur durch eine "Philosophie der Philosophie" auf den sicheren Weg einer Wissenschaft gelangen kann. Zweitens, dass diese Untersuchung aufgrund ihres Gegenstandes - der Philosophie selbst - die Ausarbeitung und den Einsatz eines speziellen methodologischen Verfahrens verlangt: Kants propädeutische Methode, Maimons Methode der Fiktionen und Schellings Methode der Naturkonstruktion. Unter der Annahme, dass diese im Kontext einer besonderen Auseinandersetzung mit den Überlegungen und Theorien der Wissenschaften des 18. Jahrhunderts entstehen, erörtert die Autorin deren Schlüsselrolle innerhalb der metaphilosophischen Reflexionen Kants, Maimons und Schellings.On the basis of an examination of Kant's, Maimon's and Schelling's metaphilosophies, this book investigates how, starting from Kant's diagnosis of a "groping metaphysics", a philosophical research program, whose goal is to elucidate the nature and method of philosophy itself, develops. What unites their projects is the thesis that philosophy must begin with an investigation of its own nature, and that this investigation, because of its special object, must be accompanied by a reflection on its method. To this end, their methods are discussed on the assumption that these methods arise from a particular engagement with the theories and practices of the 18th century sciences. Finally, this discussion provides the basis for showing in what ways philosophical experiments, fictions, or models offer methodological solutions to the problem of developing a scientific metaphysics.

Indeterminacy of meaning is an inherent feature of language. Since the meaning, to use a Derridean term is "deferred" forever , it becomes pointless to impose any unified meaning on any genre in literature as has been done by the traditional critics since ages. Each play speaks with more than one voice. This makes the undercurrent of the plays very strong and teasing for the critics. The present study re-examines, from a deconstructionist perspective, different layers of meanings which are consciously or unconsciously embedded in Marlowe¿s major plays. Critics find Tamburlaine an embodiment of the glorious Renaissance figure as well as a sadistic and megalomaniac bully. It shows for example how The Jew of Malta leaves the reader in considerable doubt as to who is the Jew of the title-Barabas, the titular Jew or Ferneze the governor who swears in the name of Christ and goes on to commit heinous crimes. The baffling free play of Christian doctrines in Doctor Faustus not only lead the hero to his death but also make the hero look like a Promethean rebel against God and a fool in the hands of Lucifer.

The symbolism of marriage in Titian¿s art can be found in his religious pictures of the Madonna and Child with a female saint and those representing St. Mary Magdalen and in his mythological compositions such as Sacred and Profane Love and the Poesie. The allegorical wedding of the elements denoted not only the reconciliation of their opposite qualities but also their beneficial transformation from the lower to the higher state of being. Titian applies to the imagery of mystical wedding, derived from the Song of Songs, where the Bride was symbolically associated with the soul or the Church and the Bridegroom with Jesus Christ. In order to reach the mystical union with God the Bride has to purify. Alchemy provided the artist with various images, grounded in esoteric literature, and a number of motifs derived from illustrated alchemical texts. Marriage is used as allegory for several stages in the alchemical opus including the final stage of chemical wedding, which alludes to the achieved state of incorruptibility and to the reconciliation of opposite principles existing in matter during the procedure.

The role of self- Actualizer in the realm of every need is a prominent feature of this book. Marlow said, ¿One percent people reach at this stage, but I say if the entire people act upon the ways of self- Actualizer, about 90 percent of people may reach at the stage of Self- Actualization Self -Actualizer is a man who gives life for the sake of humanity, faith and the truth. He is the owner of his will. He has nothing but hath all. He is the owner of perception, self ¿ sufficiency, autonomy, simplicity, perfection, acceptance spontaneity, satisfaction, gratification, awareness aliveness, uniqueness, pleasanter, softness, freshness, richness, fairness, worthiness, creativity, originality, curiosity, morality, stability, reliability, eternity, novelty, mastery, tolerance, patience, peak ¿activeness, peak-courtesy, peak- gracefulness, peak-righteousness and peak - experience. These are the characteristics of a man who is at the climax of the mankind.

This book is about the new perception of pictorial space that was elaborated in the early Renaissance by Italian painters and applied later in architecture, astronomy, and cartography, then in physic by the sixteen century with Galilee. Indeed the experience of Giotto as the earliest sole painter who applied some notion of tree dimensional space by the use of the chiaroscuro [light and shadow], was grandiose in the history of Italian painting. However Brunelleschi; the Italian architect, was the first to adopt the new notion of space using vanishing point to visualize the dome of the great cathedral he was chosen to design its architectural plans. Brunelleschi, of course, was the man-sculptor, architect; ¿artisan-engineer¿-who gave Florence numerous architectural masterpieces, above all the magnificent dome (1420-1436) over the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Flore. His work wasn¿t done solely but after serious discussions with Scientific figures and famous artists of his time. This discovery of new perception of space was based on Euclidean principles: homogeneity, infinity, and continuity. It's what I called Rationalization, codification of Perspective that last for centuries.

In recent times many scholars have attempted to understand the Monas Hieroglyphica of Dr John Dee with little success. The explanation for this failure is almost universally ascribed to the loss of hidden or secret knowledge known only to Dee and his selected initiates. While this may be a factor, it is arguably more important that that we have lost the contemporary common knowledge and the way of examining it, both of which were so ubiquitous that no scholar would have thought it sensible or necessary to explain them. Thus, an investigation and understanding of Dee¿s intellectual context is necessary if any attempt is to be made to understand his work. However this work is not only important with regards to the Monas. The Renaissance was a time of great intellectual upheaval, during which the very way that knowledge was thought about was revolutionised. By understanding the way in which all knowledge was believed to be interrelated, as exemplified in the Monas, we can better understand the intellectual landscape from which our modern way of thinking emerged.

The consequences of a subtle, or indeed unsubtle blade have, throughout history, been as telling as any declaration of war or the rise of a specific institution or philosophy: not least to the person in to whom that blade was plunged. This is certainly true for Italy at the time of the Renaissance. Described by recent commentators as ¿an age of conspiracy¿ and the ¿golden age of the conspirator¿, it seems clear that contemporaries also noted the recurrence of, and probably the apparent similarities between, conspiracies and assassination attempts. This book discusses some of the commonalities and themes between several assassinations which took place in Renaissance Italy.

This book represents a study of the attitude of Christopher Marlowe toward religion through critical analysis of three selected plays: The Jew of Malta, Doctor Faustus, and The Massacre at Paris. Marlowe exposes the hypocrisy of those who lay claim to righteousness and to be followers of the true teachings of religion while in fact they are obsessed with the idea of asserting power over others. Marlowe seems to be suggesting throughout his plays that a more secular humanist society that can accept all peoples¿ differences and that works for the benefit of all is more preferable than a religious institution who commits itself to violence in order to assert its power at all costs.

A funny thing happened to Shakespeare on his journey from lyric poet to comedian to preeminent tragedian. He ended up writing the most famous of all tragedies since the Greeks and yet had his reputation destroyed for over a century because he had done such a poor job of it! With the Romantics, Shakespeare¿s reputation revived, but no one bothered to reform the criticism of tragedy to place Shakespeare at the center of tragedic achievement rather than essentially antithetic to the received tradition. As a result today, educated audiences go to Shakespeare¿s tragedies expecting to find a single tragic hero with a single tragic flaw, agonizing over an impossible situation. Those same educated audiences do not expect to see thirteen dancers on stage at all times as the tragedic chorus of the theatre that inspired Aristotle¿s definitions. The present study seeks to start criticism back on a sane track of understanding the Shakespearean tragedic achievement. Central to that effort, it seeks to reawaken us to the true Shakespearean tragedic language, which is solidly contrastive to the elevated language of tragedy which Aristotle enshrined. The search for Shakespearean tragedy has begun.

The second volume of this Short History of English Literature picks up where the first volume left off. Starting from the first professional dramas performed for Elizabethan audiences, it then introduces the University Wits and other contemporaries of William Shakespeare¿s, before focusing more specifically on the dramatic works of Christopher Marlowe and the Bard. Like the first volume, the present monograph makes no claims to original research, nor is it intended to be comprehensive or definitive. Rather it is meant to be used as a guidebook to historical facts and a sampler of critical interpretations selected from an abundant scholarship providing the student with the pedagogical expertise of distinguished Renaissance scholars. The critical selection ranges from classical Shakespearean scholarship to more recent titles that might suggest innovative, up-to-date ways of rereading Shakespeare. To this end, the last part of the volume introduces several more theoretical approaches to five plays, using especially psychoanalysis and deconstruction.

This volume examines (1) the philosophical sources of the Kantian concepts "apperception" and "self-consciousness", (2) the historical development of the theories of apperception and deduction of categories within the pre-critical period, (3) the structure and content of A- as well as B-deduction of categories, and finally (4) the Kantian (and non-Kantian) meaning of "apperception" and "self-consciousness".