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Ronald S. Love
ISBN: 0-313-34243-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-34243-1
256 pages
Greenwood Press
Publication: 10/30/2008
List Price: $45.00 (UK Sterling Price: £31.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • "Love (history, U. of West Georgia) presents an overview of the European Enlightenment suitable for advanced secondary or beginning undergraduate students. Sections are organized by topic instead of chronologically, discussing the historical overview, science and the triumph of reason, the Church and Christianity, political thought and enlightened despotism, and the alternative vision of Montesquieu and Rousseau. A glossary and selected portions of primary documents are included."
    —Reference & Research Book News     5/1/2009
Description: One of the few self-named historical movements, the Enlightenment in 18th-Century Europe was a powerful intellectual reaction to the dominance of absolutist monarchies and religious authorities. Building upon the discoveries of the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment thinkers—philosophes—set out to improve humanity through reason, knowledge, and experience of the natural world rather than religious doctrine or moral absolutes. Their emphasis on truth through observable phenomena set the standard of thought for the modern age, deeply influencing the areas of government, the modern state, science, technology, religious tolerance and social structure. The Enlightenment's legacy is particularly visible in the United States, where its ideals inspired a revolution and served as the building blocks for the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution. Narrative chapters, photos, biographical sketches, primary document excerpts, and an extensive bibliography expand the readers' understanding of the event, providing a current perspective on this key turning point in Western ideology.

Comprehensive narrative chapters explore the historical background of the movement, as well as its relationship to nature and natural philosophy, religious belief and church institutions, society and the state, and the French Revolution. Photos, biographical sketches of key figures, excerpts from important primary documents of the time, and an extensive bibliography expand the reader's understanding of the movement that ushered in the modern era.
Table of Contents:
  • Series Foreward by Linda S. Frey and Marsha L. Frey
    Preface
    Acknowledgments
    Chronology of Events
    Chapter I Historical Overview: Preliminaries, Principles
    and Preconceptions
    Chapter II Science and the Triumph of Reason: Newton,
    Locke and a New Philosophy
    Chapter III The Philosophes, the Church and Christianity
    Chapter IV The Philosophes, Political Thought and Enlightened Despotism
    Chapter V The Alternative Vision of Montesquieu and Rousseau
    Biographies: Personalities of the Enlightenment
    Primary Documents Relating to the Enlightenment
    Glossary of Selected Terms
    Annotated Bibliography
About the Author: Ronald S. Love was Associate Professor of History at the University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA. His many published works include Maritime Exploration in the Age of Discovery, 1415-1800 (Greenwood 2006) and co-editor of Distant Lands and Diverse Cultures: The French Experience in Asia, 1600-1700 (Praeger 2002).
PDF Catalogs:
Greenwood School and Public Library Reference 2009.pdf
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