Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-190) and index.
CONTENTS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- Introduction -- I: Escape from Bondage -- II: Reason and Free Will -- III: Descartes and the Enlightenment -- IV: Autonomy and Spontaneity -- V: Freedom, Mastery, and Progress -- VI: Progress and Enlightenment -- VII: Self-Mastery -- VIII: Mastery, Method, and Enlightenment -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W
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Peter Schouls examines the role played by the concepts of freedom, mastery, and progress in Descartes' writings, arguing that these ideas express a vital and fundamental feature of Descartes' thought. These theories also occupy a central position in the thought of the Enlightenment. Since the more contentious claim is that they function centrally in Descartes' works, Schouls presents a careful and detailed examination of the conjunction and use of these ideas in Descartes' writings. This examination warrants the conclusion that they play the same role in Descartes' works as they do in writings typical of the Enlightenment.
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