Of Liberty and Necessity
The Free Will Debate in Eighteenth-Century British Philosophy
ISBN13: 9780199268603ISBN10: 0199268606
Hardback,
280 pages
Jul 2005,
In Stock
Price:
$125.00 (06)See more from the series
Description
The eighteenth century was a time of brilliant philosophical innovation in Britain. In Of Liberty and Necessity James A. Harris presents the first comprehensive account of the period's discussion of what remains a central problem of philosophy, the question of the freedom of the will. He offers new interpretations of contributions to the free will debate made by canonical figures such as Locke, Hume, Edwards, and Reid, and also discusses in detail the arguments of some less familiar writers. Harris puts the eighteenth-century debate about the will and its freedom in the context of the period's concern with applying what Hume calls the "experimental method of reasoning" to the human mind. His book will be of substantial interest to historians of philosophy and anyone concerned with the free will problem.Features
- New approaches to canonical figures like Locke, Hume, Edwards, and Reid
- Detailed discussion of a very wide range of less well known eighteenth-century philosophers
- First book by one of the UK's best young historians of philosophy
Reviews
"...deepens our understanding of the history of eighteenth-century British accounts of freedom by placing the well known accounts of Locke, Hume, and Reid in a richer context than is usually considered by historians of early modern philosophy." -- Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
