The Rationalists: Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz

Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz stand out among theirseventeenth-century contemporaries as the great rationalistphilosophers. Each sought to construct a philosophical system inwhich theological and philosophical foundations serve to explainthe physical, mental and moral universe. Through a careful analysisof their work, Pauline Phemister explores the rationalists seminalcontribution to the development of modern philosophy.Broad terminological agreement and a shared appreciation of therole of reason in ethics do not mask the very significantdisagreements that led to three distinctive philosophical systems:Cartesian dualism, Spinozan monism and Leibnizian pluralism. Thebook explores the nature of, and offers reasons for, thesedifferences. Phemister contends that Spinoza and Leibniz developedtheir systems in part through engagements with and amendment ofCartesian philosophy, and critically analyses the arguments andcontributions of all three philosophers. The clarity of the authorsdiscussion of their key ideas including their views on knowledge,universal languages, the nature of substance and substances,bodies, the relation of mind and body, freedom, and the role ofdistinct perception and reason in morals will make this book theideal introduction to rationalist philosophy.