Diderot and Descartes: A Study of Scientific Naturalism in the Enlightenment
Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1953. First edition. Softcover. Octavo. VI, [2], 336pp. Original decorative wrappers over cloth with gold lettering on spine. Title page in red and black lettering. Captivating work attempting to show how powerfully the great philosopher's ideas, despite misleading appearances, acted upon the intellectual issues that fashioned the scientific naturalism of Diderot, La Mettrie, Buffon, and D'Holbach. The book reconstructs an important phase of the history of ideas in the period from 1650 to 1750, and in tracing the materialism of the philosophes back to its unexplored sources, it offers a fresh appraisal of the total influence of Descartes on the Enlightenment and on modern thought. Minor age-wear on wrappers with spine slightly sunned. Wraps in overall good+, binding and interior in very good condition. vg. Item #29380
Price: $50.00