European Philosophers From Descartes to Nietzche

“Between the earliest and the latest of the works included here, we have two hundred and fifty years of vigorous and adventurous philosophizing,” Monroe Beardsley writes in his introduction to this collection.  “If the modern period can be only vaguely or arbitrarily bounded, it can at least be studied, and we can ask whether any dominant themes, overall patterns of movement, or notable achievements can be found within it.  This question is one that is best asked by the reader after he has read, or read around in, these works.”  Selections have been made from the writings of twelve European philosophers.  These include:Descartes        Discourse on MethodPascal                ThoughtsSpinoza        “The Nature of Evil”Leibniz        “The Relation Between Soul and Body”Rousseau        The Social ContractKant                Critique of Pure ReasonFichte                The Vocation of ManHegel                Introduction to the Philosophy of HistorySchopenhauer        The World as Will and IdeaComte                A General View of PositivismMach                The Analysis of Sensations and the Relation of the Physical to the PsychicalNietzsche        Beyond Good and Evil