The Soft Underbelly of Reason: The Passions in the Seventeenth Century / Edition 1

by Stephen Gaukroger

Overview

This book provides a valuable understanding on the different views of the passions in the Seventeenth Century. The contributors show that fundamental questions about the nature of wisdom, goodness and beauty were understood in terms of the contrast between reason and passions in this era. Those with an interest in philosophy , the history of medicene, and women's studies will find this collection a fascinating read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415170543
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/29/1998
Series:	Routledge Studies in Seventeenth-Century Philosophy
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1600L (what's this?)

About the Author

Reader in Philosophy at the University of Sydney, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities. He has written several books, including Descartes: An Intellectual Biography, Cartesian Logic, and Arnauld: On True and False Ideas.

Table of Contents

Introduction , Stephen Gaukroger; Part I The nature of the passions; Chapter 1 Explaining the passions, Susan James; Chapter 2 Rationalizing the passions, Genevieve Lloyd; Part II The symbolism of the passions; Chapter 3 Reading the passions, Peter Harrison; Chapter 4 Painting the passions, Christopher Allen; Part III The physiology of the passions; Chapter 5 Controlling the passions, John Sutton; Chapter 6 Restraining the passions, Jamie C. Kassler;

Editorial Reviews

Six essays highlight the thinking of 17th-century philosophers, theologians, artists, and physicians, with regard to the nature of passions. The first two essays deal with the general question of the contrast between reason and the passions. The contributions in the second section consider the symbolism of the passions in nature and art, and those in the third section look at two aspects of the way in which neurophysiological theory was brought to bear on the understanding of the passions. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews