Ideas and Mechanism: Essays on Early Modern Philosophy

Margaret Dauler Wilson

Published by Princeton University Press 1999

Ideas and Mechanism

Essays on Early Modern Philosophy

Margaret Dauler Wilson

Volume 75 in the series Princeton Legacy Library

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400864980

Overview
Contents

About this book

For more than three decades, Margaret Wilson's essays on early modern philosophy have influenced scholarly debate. Many are considered classics in the field and remain as important today as they were when they were first published. Until now, however, they have never been available in book form and some have been particularly difficult to find. This collection not only provides access to nearly all of Wilson's most significant work, but also demonstrates the continuity of her thought over time. These essays show that Wilson possesses a keen intelligence, coupled with a fearlessness in tackling the work of early modern philosophers as well as the writing of modern commentators. Many of the pieces collected here respond to philosophical issues of continuing importance.

The thirty-one essays gathered here deal with some of the best known early philosophers, including Descartes, Leibniz, Locke, Spinoza, and Berkeley. As this collection shows, Wilson is a demanding critic. She repeatedly asks whether the philosophers' arguments were adequate to the problems they were trying to solve and whether these arguments remain compelling today. She is not afraid to engage in complex argument but, at the same time, her own writing remains clear and fresh. Ideas and Mechanism is an essential collection of work by one of the leading scholars of our era.

Originally published in 1999.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Reviews

"The work of Margaret Wilson, widely regarded for several decades as the foremost scholar of early modern philosophy, has shaped the field and raised its standards. Her papers are more than required reading; they provoked—and continue to provoke—serious and active engagement. Bringing together the substance of Wilson's scholarly achievement, this is an extremely significant collection."—John Carriero, University of California, Los Angeles

The essays in this collection are of a high scholarly quality and are a good representation of the development and directions of Wilson's work.

"Margaret Wilson was the leading historian of early modern philosophy in the English-speaking world. Her work is distinguished by fierce intelligence, a fine ear for textual nuance, a passion for clarity, and close critical attention to the work of others. This rich collection of important papers will be studied eagerly by a wide audience."—Kenneth Winkler, Wellesley College

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
PREFACE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
EDITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xv
CHAPTER 1. Skepticism without Indubitability Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
CHAPTER 2. Descartes on Sense and "Resemblance" Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	10
CHAPTER 3. Descartes on the Perception of Primary Qualities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	26
CHAPTER 4. Descartes on the Origin of Sensation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
CHAPTER 5. Descartes on the Representationality of Sensation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	69
CHAPTER 6. Descartes; The Epistemological Argument for Mind-Body Distinctness Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	84
CHAPTER 7. True and Immutable Natures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	94
CHAPTER 8. Can I Be the Cause of My Idea of the World? (Descartes on the Infinite and Indefinite) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	108
CHAPTER 9. Objects, Ideas, and "Minds"; Comments on Spinoza's Theory of Mind Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	126
CHAPTER 10. Spinoza's Causal Axiom (Ethics I, Axiom 4) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
CHAPTER 11. Infinite Understanding, Scientia intuiliva, and Ethics 1.16 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
CHAPTER 12. "For They Do Not Agree in Nature with Us": Spinoza on the Lower Animals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	178
CHAPTER 13. Superadded Properties: The Limits of Mechanism in Locke Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
CHAPTER 14. Discussion: Superadded Properties: A Reply to M. R. Ayers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209
CHAPTER 15. Did Berkeley Completely Misunderstand the Basis of the Primary-Secondary Quality Distinction in Locke? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
CHAPTER 16. Berkeley on the Mind-Dependence of Colors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
CHAPTER 17. Berkeley and the Essence of the Corpuscularians Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
CHAPTER 18. The Issue of "Common Sensibles" in Berkeley's New Theory of Vision Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	257
CHAPTER 19. Kant and "The Dogmatic Idealism of Berkeley" Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	276
CHAPTER 20. The "Phenomenalisms" of Berkeley and Kant Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	294
CHAPTER 21. The "Phenomenalisms" of Leibniz and Berkeley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	306
CHAPTER 22. Confused Ideas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	322
CHAPTER 23. Confused vs. Distinct Perception in Leibniz: Consciousness, Representation, and God's Mind Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	336
CHAPTER 24. Leibniz and Locke on "First Truths" Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	353
CHAPTER 25. Leibniz: Self-Consciousness and Immortality in the Paris Notes and After Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	373
CHAPTER 26. Leibniz and Materialsm Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	388
CHAPTER 27. Possible Gods Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	407
CHAPTER 28. Leibniz's Dynamics and Contingency in Nature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	421
CHAPTER 29. Compossibility and Law Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	442
CHAPTER 30. History of Philosophy in Philosophy Today; and the Case of the Sensible Qualities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	455
CHAPTER 31. Animal Ideas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	495
SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	513
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	515

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