Reason's Children: Childhood in Early Modern Philosophy (Bucknell Studies in Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture) (Buckwe
Reason's Children: Childhood in Early Modern Philosophy (Bucknell Studies in Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture) (Buckwell Studies in Eighteenth-century Literatue and Culture) By Anthony Krupp
2009 | 264 Pages | ISBN: 0838757219 | PDF | 12 MB
2009 | 264 Pages | ISBN: 0838757219 | PDF | 12 MB
We still know little of childhood in early modern European thought. By reconstructing philosophies of childhood in the works of rationalists not known to have reflected upon children, "Reason's Children" expands our understanding of philosophical reflection on childhood in early modern Europe. Central aspects of early modern philosophical systems - Descartes' prejudice and method, Leibniz's divine justice, Wolff's rationality, Baumgarten's aesthetic cognition - are reexamined in light of the peripheral status of childhood in their works. Furthermore, Krupp carefully examines the various children of Locke's Essay, most of whom have been neglected in histories of childhood. Beyond illustrating the blank slate thesis, Locke's children play other significant roles as well: as not-yet persons, as deficient speakers, and as changelings.