Routledge Studies in Seventeenth-Century Philosophy
About the Book Series
Routledge Studies in Seventeenth Century Philosophy publishes significant contributions to the study of this key period in philosophy. It covers studies of single authors as well as principal philosophical areas. More generally it reflects the work of a generation of historians of philosophy who combine historical sensitivity with philosophical vigour.
Cartesianism and Philosophy of Mind
1st Edition
Edited
By Vili Lähteenmäki, Oberto Marrama, Jani Sinokki
November 13, 2025
This book explores themes in the philosophy of mind as they emerge within the early modern Cartesian tradition. It brings together thirteen contributions from international scholars, to provide a fine-grained account of how seventeenth-century thinkers scrutinized and re-interpreted Descartes’ ...
Leibniz, Classical Theism, and the Problem of Evil: Why Classical Theism Must Affirm That Our World is the Best of All Possible Worlds
1st Edition
By Nathan A. Jacobs
July 30, 2025
This volume offers a defense of Leibniz’s theodicy and his infamous claim that our world is the best of all possible worlds. It considers Leibniz’s rationale for “optimism,” examines its roots in ancient and medieval thought, and forwards a novel rereading of Leibniz’s theory of freedom in light of...
A Pluralist’s Guide to Solving Molyneux’s Problem
1st Edition
By Brian Glenney
December 31, 2024
This book presents a novel pluralist strategy for answering Molyneux’s 300+-year-old conundrum: Would a person, born blind but given sight, identify a shape previously known only by their touch? The author interweaves historical scholarship with contemporary philosophical work and empirical ...
Pierre Gassendi: Humanism, Science, and the Birth of Modern Philosophy
1st Edition
Edited
By Delphine Bellis, Daniel Garber, Carla Rita Palmerino
October 07, 2024
Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655) was a major figure in seventeenth-century philosophy and science and his works contributed to shaping Western intellectual identity. Among “new philosophers,” he was considered Descartes’s main rival, and he belonged to the first rank of those attempting to carve out an ...
The Cartesian Brain: Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives
1st Edition
Edited
By Denis Kambouchner, Damien Lacroux, Tad M. Schmaltz, Ruidan She
September 23, 2024
This volume presents new research on Cartesian psychophysiology that combines historical and textual analysis with a consideration of recent advances in contemporary neuroscience research. It seeks to explain why the Cartesian theory of the brain and its communication with the mind still offer a ...
Locke’s Twilight of Probability: An Epistemology of Rational Assent
1st Edition
By Mark Boespflug
August 26, 2024
This book provides a systematic treatment of Locke’s theory of probable assent, and shows how the theory applies to Locke’s philosophy of science, moral epistemology, and religious epistemology. There is a powerful case to be made that the most important dimension of Locke’s philosophy is his ...
Spinoza, Metaphysics, and the Possibility of Salvation: The Finite in the Infinite
1st Edition
By Olli Koistinen
July 22, 2024
This book offers a novel interpretation of Spinoza’s basic metaphysics of God, body, and mind. It considers the fundamental question of how finite things, especially human minds, are in God. Moreover, because for Spinoza God is identical with the universe, the question becomes how finite things are...
Powers and Abilities in Early Modern Philosophy
1st Edition
Edited
By Sebastian Bender, Dominik Perler
June 28, 2024
This book explores different accounts of powers and abilities in early modern philosophy. It analyzes powers and abilities as a package, hopefully enabling us to better understand them both and to see similarities as well as dissimilarities. While some prominent early modern accounts of power have ...
Descartes’s Moral Perfectionism
1st Edition
By Frans Svensson
April 23, 2024
This book offers a novel and comprehensive interpretation of Descartes’s moral philosophy. In contrast to other influential interpretations, the book argues that the central tenet of his ethical thought is that each person ought to live in the way that is most conducive to their degree of overall ...
Locke's Science of Knowledge
1st Edition
By Matt Priselac
March 05, 2019
John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding begins with a clear statement of an epistemological goal: to explain the limits of human knowledge, opinion, and ignorance. The actual text of the Essay, in stark contrast, takes a long and seemingly meandering path before returning to that goal ...
Locke and Leibniz on Substance
1st Edition
Edited
By Paul Lodge, Tom Stoneham
November 28, 2017
Locke and Leibniz on Substance gathers together papers by an international group of academic experts, examining the metaphysical concept of substance in the writings of these two towering philosophers of the early modern period. Each of these newly-commissioned essays considers important ...
Vanishing Matter and the Laws of Motion: Descartes and Beyond
1st Edition
Edited
By Peter Anstey, Dana Jalobeanu
November 28, 2017
This volume explores the themes of vanishing matter, matter and the laws of nature, the qualities of matter, and the diversity of the debates about matter in the early modern period. Chapters are unified by a number of interlocking themes which together enable some of the broader contours of the ...