Enlightened Eccentrics : Philosophers in the Age of Reason

The book discusses Bacon, Descartes, Bayle, Fontenelle, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, d'Alembert, La Mettrie, Holbach, Kant, Schiller and many other philosophers. These philosophers were united in their belief that reason rather than revelation is the primary source of authority and they courageously attempted to destroy traditional, superstitious and religious ideas and replace them with a liberal, rational and humane worldview. This books is a declaration of respect and admiration for these philosophers. Threatened and attacked in their time, they are today ignored or ridiculed by those who fear or wish to suppress the truths of human existence. The challenge today is to find eccentrics enlightened enough to argue that the age which venerated reason and science as humankind’s highest faculty must not be lost to us. All those interested in philosophy will enjoy this important contribution to the literature.