The Philosophy of the Enlightenment

Ernst Cassirer's "The Philosophy of the Enlightenment" is an excellent historical overview of this period of intellectual history. He highlights the major themes that unite this diverse group of thinkers. I previously read and enjoyed Peter Gay's two-volume history of the Enlightenment, but I wish I had read Cassirer's book before Gay's. I would definitely have appreciated Gay's work more. I highly recommend Cassirer's work.

Ernst Cassirer was one of the more important philosophers of the 20th Century, although his work is less well-known in this country than on the Continent. Cassirer was also a Kant scholar who wrote an influential biography of Kant "Kant's Leben und Lehre" (Kant's Life and Teachings). This book, written in the mid-1930s, but not available in English until much later, is perhaps still the best serious survey of the Enlightenment, with more emphasis on the German Enlightenment than we are used to seeing. (The term 'enlightenment' itself comes from the German word "Aufklaerung"). Unlike many of the more recent writers on the Enlightenment, Cassirer is sympathetic to the Enlightenment enterprise and does not have an axe to grind (Peter Gay and Lester Crocker come to mind). Although well-written, and the subject is interesting to anyone concerned about the growth of the modern world, this is not an easy book: Cassirer presents a more nuanced view of the Enlightment and the philosophes than even most educated readers are used to and the reader must actively think about the arguments presented. The effort is absolutely worthwhile.

Yes! Amazing how the eighteenth century is still here today, in our many institutions and political ideals. Cassirer's heady analysis of the culture, debates and ideals of the time informs our current cultural mosaic, where rap lives side by side with the Lincoln Center. I especially return to his synopsis of the debate about faith in the XVIIIth c., that centers on Voltaire's attack against Pascal. When the thoughts of moral titans collide, the sparks endure.