Description
Book SynopsisThis volume contains the key philosophical writings of maverick Enlightenment philosopher André-Pierre Le Guay de Prémontval (1716-1764). Prémontval was a prolific member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, and in his career as academic he wrote a series of essays and books on a range of core philosophical topics, such as necessity and contingency, free will, sufficient reason, personal identity, the nature of the mind and its relationship with the body, optimism, and the existence of God. Prémontval's philosophy, shaped by his opposition to key philosophers such as Descartes, Leibniz, and Wolff, is notable for a number of original and often provocative positions on key philosophical issues of the time, which he supported by inventive critiques and a raft of novel arguments. In addition to developing a highly original proof for the existence of God based on the principles of atheism, Prémontval argued that all possible beings exist, and do so necessarily and therefore eternally; he insi
Trade ReviewStrickland’s clear translations give us new access to Prémontval’s impassioned, personal, and heterodox writings on a wide range of philosophical topics: human and divine freedom, necessity and chance, proofs of God’s existence, providence, and the mind-body problem. The informative introductions for each selection and the copious explanatory notes allow us to understand and appreciate the texts both in their own terms and as contributions to the philosophical culture of Frederick the Great’s Prussia. An impressive volume. -- David Forman, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
What Strickland has organized here is nothing short of astonishing. He brilliantly captures the heart of Prémontval's philosophical views with this selection of pivotal texts for English readers for the first time ever. Both students and researchers of modern philosophy will find immense value in this stunning volume. -- Charles Joshua Horn, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
Lloyd Strickland should be applauded for making available for the first time in an accessible English translation the philosophical writings of the quixotic French mathematician and philosopher André-Pierre Le Guay de Prémontval. The threads of Prémontval’s often heterodox ideas shine through in Strickland’s translation and, woven together with the accompanying introductory materials and notes, offer the reader rare insight into this long overlooked philosophe. I have little doubt that The Philosophical Writings of Prémontval will stand the test of time as an invaluable window into the intellectual world of Enlightenment France. -- James A.T. Lancaster, University of Queensland
Lloyd Strickland brings to the attention of Anglophone scholars of the Enlightenment an understudied and original thinker. This anthology provides novel access to the idiosyncratic philosophy of André-Pierre Le Guay de Prémontval, controversial member of the Berlin Academy and rather prolific author of metaphysical and theological tracts. -- Tinca Prunea-Bretonnet, University of Bucharest
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Prémontval’s Life and Thought Preface: Prémontval at the Academy Abbreviations Chapter 1: Theotimus; Fragment of a Discourse Read at the Academy, October 19, 1752 Chapter 2: Thoughts on Freedom Chapter 3: Remark on the Alleged Distinction between Absolute Necessity and Hypothetical Necessity Conceived by Philosophers for the Explanation of Freedom: Memoir Read at the Royal Academy of Sciences, December 13, 1753 Chapter 4: The Diogenes of d’Alembert (selections) Chapter 5: On Chance under the Rule of Providence Chapter 6: Letters to Leonhard Euler and Louis Bertrand, on Epicureanism Chapter 7: Remark on Mr Wolff’s Definition of the Word “Something” Chapter 8: Reflections on an Almost Universal Failing in the Admiration of Nature’s Wonders Chapter 9: The Chance Organizer Chapter 10: The Theology of Being, or Chain of Ideas from Being to God (pt. 1) Chapter 11: The Theology of Being, or Chain of Ideas from Being to God (pt .2) Chapter 12: On the Physical Self and Moral Self, or, on the Being and the Person Chapter 13: On the State of Simple Sensation: Whether it can be Capable of Happiness and Woe Chapter 14: On Psychocracy Chapter 15: The Continuation of Psychocracy Chapter 16: Conclusion of Psychocracy Bibliography
