The Politics of Appropriation: Erasmus and Bayle
Over the centuries, the local elites of Rotterdam have gone out of their way to cultivate the memory of Erasmus. From the sixteenth century onwards to this day, he has been consistently put forward as the city’s greatest son. During the early 1690’s, when Pierre Bayle, “le philosophe de Rotterdam”, was facing dismissal as professor of the Illustrious School of Rotterdam, he launched an attempt to save his position by reminding his employers of his allegiance to Erasmus’ heritage. Although Bayle would be fired just the same, we have every reason to take his Erasmianism seriously. In particular, Bayle’s critical attitude as an historian is reminiscent of Erasmus’ philological stance.
Pierre Bayle's Cartesian Metaphysics: Rediscovering Early Modern Philosophy
Abbreviations and Editions Preface Introduction 1 Bayle and Cartesianism 2 Mind-Body Dualism 3 Critique of Lockean Superaddition 4 The Problem of Causation 5 Leibniz and the Pre-established Harmony 6 Spinoza's Monism 7 Mechanism and Natural Theology Notes Bibliography Index
The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy
In this newly revised edition of his widely acclaimed work, Peter Burke presents a social and cultural history of the Italian Renaissance. He discusses the social and political institutions that existed in Italy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and he analyzes the ways of thinking and seeing that characterized this period of extraordinary artistic creativity. Developing a distinctive approach, the author is concerned not only with the finished works of Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and others, but also with the social background, patterns of recruitment, and means of subsistence of this "cultural elite." He thus makes a major contribution both to our understanding of the Italian Renaissance and to our comprehension of the complex relations between culture and society. An excellent social history of the lives and culture of the artists and artisans which made it possible for the arts to flourish.