The Eighteenth-Century Background: Studies On The Idea Of Nature In The Thought Of The Period
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good to fair. Paperback. Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.
In an age when reason and nature were held as twin pillars of civilisation, The Eighteenth-Century Background charts the intellectual currents that shaped one of the most transformative eras in Western thought. Basil Willey chronicles the evolution of the idea of Nature as it wound through theology, poetry, philosophy, and moral theory across the eighteenth century, illuminating the minds of thinkers from Locke and Newton to Rousseau and the early Romantics. With scholarly precision and an elegant prose style, Willey presents the period not as a static monument to rationalism, but as a living, contested landscape of ideas where the boundaries of science, religion, and art were ceaselessly negotiated. A landmark work of intellectual history, this study illustrates how the concept of Nature served as a unifying — and deeply contested — force in the thought of the period, giving shape to arguments about morality, society, and the human condition. Willey's authoritative and lucid analysis rewards both the student of literature and the philosopher of ideas, drawing connections that resonate far beyond the eighteenth century and leaving the reader to wonder whether the age of reason ever truly resolved its own deepest contradictions.
Author: Basil Willey
Format: Paperback
Genre: Literary theory
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good to fair. Paperback. Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.
In an age when reason and nature were held as twin pillars of civilisation, The Eighteenth-Century Background charts the intellectual currents that shaped one of the most transformative eras in Western thought. Basil Willey chronicles the evolution of the idea of Nature as it wound through theology, poetry, philosophy, and moral theory across the eighteenth century, illuminating the minds of thinkers from Locke and Newton to Rousseau and the early Romantics. With scholarly precision and an elegant prose style, Willey presents the period not as a static monument to rationalism, but as a living, contested landscape of ideas where the boundaries of science, religion, and art were ceaselessly negotiated. A landmark work of intellectual history, this study illustrates how the concept of Nature served as a unifying — and deeply contested — force in the thought of the period, giving shape to arguments about morality, society, and the human condition. Willey's authoritative and lucid analysis rewards both the student of literature and the philosopher of ideas, drawing connections that resonate far beyond the eighteenth century and leaving the reader to wonder whether the age of reason ever truly resolved its own deepest contradictions.