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The Dream of Enlightenment audiobook

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The Dream of Enlightenment Audiobook Summary

The author of the classic The Dream of Reason vividly explains the rise of modern thought.

Western philosophy is now two-and-a-half millennia old, but much of it came in just two staccato bursts, each lasting only about 150 years. In his landmark survey of Western philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance, The Dream of Reason, Anthony Gottlieb documented the first burst, which came in the Athens of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Now, in The Dream of Enlightenment, Gottlieb expertly navigates a second great explosion of thought, taking us to northern Europe in the wake of its wars of religion and the rise of Galilean science. In a relatively short period—from the early 1640s to the eve of the French Revolution—Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, and Hume all made their mark. The Dream of Enlightenment tells their story and that of the birth of modern philosophy.

As Gottlieb explains, all these men were amateurs: none had much to do with any university. They tried to fathom the implications of the new science and of religious upheaval, which led them to question traditional teachings and attitudes. What does the advance of science entail for our understanding of ourselves and for our ideas of God? How should a government deal with religious diversity—and what, actually, is government for? Such questions remain our questions, which is why Descartes, Hobbes, and the others are still pondered today.

Yet it is because we still want to hear them that we can easily get these philosophers wrong. It is tempting to think they speak our language and live in our world; but to understand them properly, we must step back into their shoes. Gottlieb puts listeners in the minds of these frequently misinterpreted figures, elucidating the history of their times and the development of scientific ideas while engagingly explaining their arguments and assessing their legacy in lively prose.

With chapters focusing on Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Pierre Bayle, Leibniz, Hume, Rousseau, and Voltaire—and many walk-on parts—The Dream of Enlightenment creates a sweeping account of what the Enlightenment amounted to, and why we are still in its debt.

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The Dream of Enlightenment Audiobook Narrator

Derek Perkins is the narrator of The Dream of Enlightenment audiobook that was written by Anthony Gottlieb

Derek Perkins is a professional narrator and voice actor. He has earned numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, as well as numerous Society of Voice Arts nominations. AudioFile magazine named him a Best Voice consecutively in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Augmented by a knowledge of three foreign languages and a facility with accents, he has narrated numerous titles in a wide range of fiction and nonfiction genres.

About the Author(s) of The Dream of Enlightenment

Anthony Gottlieb is the author of The Dream of Enlightenment

The Dream of Enlightenment Full Details

Narrator Derek Perkins
Length 10 hours 37 minutes
Author Anthony Gottlieb
Category
Publisher Blackstone Publishing
Release date April 27, 2024
ISBN 9781504688642

Subjects

The publisher of the The Dream of Enlightenment is Blackstone Publishing. includes the following subjects: philosophy, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, Hume, Rousseau, god, religion, science, enlightenment, misunderstood, philosophers, the dream of reason, Philosophy, History & Surveys, General, Philosophy, General, Philosophy, Religious The BISAC Subject Code is General, History & Surveys, Philosophy

Additional info

The publisher of the The Dream of Enlightenment is Blackstone Publishing. The imprint is Blackstone Publishing. It is supplied by Blackstone Publishing. The ISBN-13 is 9781504688642.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

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