The Cambridge Companion To The Essay

The book studies the history and theory of the essay and its social, political, and aesthetic contexts.

First published in 1689, John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding is widely recognised as among the greatest works in the history of Western philosophy. The Essay puts forward a systematic empiricist theory of mind, detailing how all ideas and knowledge arise from sense experience. Locke was trained in mechanical philosophy and he crafted his account to be consistent with the best natural science of his day. The Essay was highly influential and its rendering of empiricism would become the standard for subsequent theorists. This Companion volume includes fifteen new essays from leading scholars. Covering the major themes of Locke's work, they explain his views while situating the ideas in the historical context of Locke's day and often clarifying their relationship to ongoing work in philosophy. Pitched to advanced undergraduates and graduate students, it is ideal for use in courses on early modern philosophy, British empiricism and John Locke.

Table of contents

This convenient, accessible guide provides a systematic survey of Locke's philosophy informed by the most recent scholarship and covers his theory of ideas, and his philosophies of mind, language, and religion.

Not only a hero of the scientific revolution, but after his conflict with the church, a hero of science, Galileo is today rivalled in the popular imagination only by Newton and Einstein. But what did Galileo actually do, and what are the sources of the popular image we have of him? This 1998 collection of specially-commissioned essays is unparalleled in the depth of its coverage of all facets of Galileo's work. A particular feature of the volume is the treatment of Galileo's relationship with the church. It will be of interest to philosophers, historians of science, cultural historians and those in religious studies.

A historical overview of autobiography from the works of Augustine, Montaigne, and Rousseau to the Romantic, Victorian, and modern eras.

Presents lucid and exemplary critical essays, introducing readers to J. M. Coetzee's works, practices, horizons and relations.

Essays from a diverse group of experts providing a comprehensive guide to Socrates, the most famous Greek philosopher.