Description
Book SynopsisDemocracy, free thought and expression, religious tolerance, individual liberty, political self-determination of people, sexual and racial equality - these values have firmly entered the mainstream in the decades since they were enshrined in the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights. This book deals with this topic.
Trade Review"Spinoza's radicalism was certainly frightening in its time, and Israel has valuably if aggressively opened the question of its influence on the Enlightenment and the era of revolution."--Samuel Moyn, Nation "Israel is right to emphasize the importance of this intellectual movement, but since his is such a sweeping revision of so many generations of received ideas, his work raises the question of why the radical Enlightenment has been misunderstood or obscured for so long in favor of such colorful figures as Voltaire (in Israel's telling, a witty, snobbish sycophant)... We are lucky that a historian of Israel's caliber has taken these subjects on and lucky, too, that he has now produced a readable introduction to them."--Benjamin Moser, Harper's Magazine "Israel's reasoned assertion for the influence of the Radical Enlightenment on democratic thought is certainly compelling, making this essential reading for students of the Enlightenment era as well as anyone interested in the foundations of modern democracy."--Library Journal "Israel's new book is a breathtaking rethinking of the Enlightenment and its impact in the modern world."--Choice "Perhaps no active scholar has shaped the conversation about the sources and meaning of the Enlightenment more than Jonathan Israel... Almost miraculously, Israel manages to embody the greatest intellectual virtues and vices."--Christian Century "Israel succeeds commendably in a great evaluation and dissemination of generally unknown texts from beyond the familiar territories of France, England, and America. In this respect, he broadens the common conception of where Enlightenment ideas were debated and implemented, unlike Isaiah Berlin, who failed to notice the American Enlightenment."--Rivka Weisberg and Carl Pletsch, 1650-1850 "In telling this fascinating story, A Revolution of the Mind reveals the surprising origins of our most cherished values--and helps explain why in certain circles they are frequently disapproved of and attacked even today."--World Book Industry "The book is obligatory reading."--Antal Szantay, Israel, European History Quarterly "[T]hanks to Israel's engaging narrative style, this is an accessible and entertaining, yet hugely informative read."--Sinead Fitzgibbon, Marginalia "Israel's book is itself a demonstration of just how alive Enlightenment values and ideals still are."--Alan Apperley, European Legacy
Table of ContentsPreface vii CHAPTER I: Progress and the Enlightenment's Two Conflicting Ways of Improving the World 1 CHAPTER II: Democracy or Social Hierarchy? The Political Rift 37 CHAPTER III: The Problem of Equality and Inequality: The Rise of Economics 92 CHAPTER IV: The Enlightenment's Critique of War and the Quest for "Perpetual Peace" 124 CHAPTER V: Two Kinds of Moral Philosophy in Conflict 154 CHAPTER VI: Voltaire versus Spinoza: The Enlightenment as a Basic Duality of Philosophical Systems 199 CHAPTER VII: Conclusion 221 Notes 243 Index 267
