The Critique of Enthusiasm in the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History) [Hardcover]

Michael Heyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995 | ISBN-10: 9004101187 | ISBN-13: 978-9004101180

This work deals with the theological and medical critique of "enthusiasm" in the 17th and early 18th centuries and with the relationship between enthusiasm and the new natural philosophy in that period. "Enthusiasm" at that time was a label ascribed to various individuals and groups who claimed to have direct divine inspiration - prophets, millenarists and alchemists as well as experimental philosophers and even philosophers like Descartes. This book attempts to combine the perspectives of intellectual history, Church history, history of medicine and history of science in analyzing the various reactions to enthusiasm. The central thesis of the book is that the reaction to enthusiasm, especially in the Protestant world, may provide an important key to the origins of the Enlightenment and to the processes of secularization of European consciousness.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'"The value of Michael Heyd's Be Sober and Reasonable" is that its identification of the origins and background of the criticism of enthusiasm paves the way for future studies to concentrate on particular chronological areas and the particular themes which his groundwork has turned up.'
Warren Johnston, "Canadian Journal of History, 1997.
'..".a book of great learning, insight, and usefulness...'
Lawrence Klein, "Journal of Modern History, 1999.
'"As a reference source alone, this scholarly study is of great value. With the thoughtful analyses of the many writers discussed, this becomes an important contribution.'
John W. Yolton, "EHR, 1998.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004101187
• ISBN-13: 978-9004101180
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,220,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.