Early Modern Thought

This page revised March 22, 2013

 

1. From Aristotle to the Scientific Revolution (rev. 10/24/2012)

2. Before and After the Scientific Revolution (10/31/2011)

3. Descartes and Dualism

4. Key Reading: John Locke and Natural Rights
     (summary part basic, critical part intermediate)
     4a. Hobbes, Locke, and the Social Contract
          (chart; to print on one page, set scale to 70%)
     
    
 

        5. Key Reading: Adam Smith on The Utility of Free Markets
     (summary part basic, critical part intermediate)
     5a. On the Metaphorical Origin of Smith's Invisible Hand Concept
     5b. Is There No Regulation at All in a Free Market?
     5c. Perfectly Competitive Markets (20th century economic theory) (one page, 10/27/10)

6. Libertarianism (a 20th-21st century political philosophy
          heavily indebted to Locke's and Smith's early modern positions)
     6a. Libertarian Ethics (basic)
     6b. Common Misunderstandings Concerning Libertarianism (basic)
     6c. Dialogue on Libertarianism (basic)

7. David Graeber, What Is Capitalism, Anyway? (2011)