A History of Philosophy- Philosophy in the Reformation

Peter Adamson presents an engaging and wide-ranging introduction to European philosophy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, particularly the parallel and intertwining emergence of humanism and religious reform, as figures like Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin remade the intellectual and spiritual life of Europe. In this latest volume of A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Peter Adamson presents a lively and accessible introduction to European philosophy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Philosophy in the Reformation focuses on the parallel and intertwining emergence of humanism and of religious reform, as figures like Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin remade the intellectual and spiritual life of Europe. In the first three parts of the book, philosophical developments in central Europe, France, and Britain are examined. A wide range of topics and controversies are discussed, from debates over free will to the legitimacy of tyrannicide. This was also the time of the Northern Renaissance, which saw a resurgence of ancient concepts like skepticism and atomist theories of matter. The volume's final section charts the Catholic reaction to these epochal events in the Counter-Reformation, and especially the ideas of Spanish thinkers like Molina and Suárez. Quite a few familiar figures are discussed, such as Montaigne and Copernicus. But as always in this series, Adamson lavishes attention on fascinating figures who are often ignored in the history of philosophy, like John Dee, Robert Fludd, and Oliva Sabuco (who is just one of numerous women intellectuals covered). Another feature of the book is its attention to literature and the arts: the reader will learn how the achievements of Dürer, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and Cervantes relate to philosophical currents of…