Philosophy of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Readings in the History of Philosophy) [Paperback]

Richard H. Popkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1966 | ISBN-10: 0029254906 | ISBN-13: 978-0029254905 | Edition: First

Philosophers of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; First edition (January 1, 1966)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0029254906
• ISBN-13: 978-0029254905
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #636,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fine companion to other works, March 21, 2003

By 

D. Dohoda "chaosopher" (Massachusetts, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philosophy of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Readings in the History of Philosophy) (Paperback)

I wanted to state my own agreement with the previous reviewer. It is a book that gives original material. If that is what you are looking for, the book strikes major themes within the works. If you are looking for further exposition on those works, this is not the book for you. As there is very little original material besides those cited it is hard to justify a high rating, but don't let the rating dissuade you: the original text is what it is (of course translated into English as appropriate).

Philosophers included are (in order): Amerigo Vespucci, Desiderius Erasmus, Martin Luther, Nicolas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Michael de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, Pierre Gassendi, Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Blaise Pascal, Baruch Spinoza, Nicolas Malebranche, Gottfried Leibniz, and Pierre Bayle, for a total of about 333 pages of their works (the rest is bibliography, index, and introduction).

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy of the 16th and 17th centuries, July 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Philosophy of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Readings in the History of Philosophy) (Paperback)

This is a short anthology of philosophical writings from Europe of the 16th and 17th centuries. The selections are traditional, but this is to be expected from the limited space available that precludes a selection of anyone but the major philosophers of the period, though there is a strange absence of any of the philosophes of the early Enlightenment.

A page or two detailing its historical context and giving relevant biographical information briefly introduce each selection. However, these are quite brief and often do not give the philosophers an adequate philosophical context, and it will be difficult to use this anthology on its own. It will be useful as a reference of original source materials to accompany a book or course on the history of philosophy.

4.0 out of 5 stars Can be useful, July 3, 2007

By 

- (Boone, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philosophy of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Readings in the History of Philosophy) (Paperback)

Primary source book. While you are likely to want the full text from the more famous works, it is a great book if you wish to fill in the gaps of your survey of the history of philosophy. The book provides an insight into less widely read names such as Erasmus, who nevertheless don't warrant owning a more comprehensive collection (that is unless you are a specialist). This is historically important material that will help your understanding of thinkers that are more likely to be the subject of popular study. If you have an aversion the primary sources in this area, there are surely other books to help you sidestep encountering philosophy.