Most outstanding Modern Age philosophers

This lesson from a TEACHER is dedicated to philosophers of the modern age, specifically between the centuries XVII and XVIII. These intellectuals have contributed significantly to the development of philosophical thought, although her ideas have gone unnoticed throughout history, being considered mere copies without any value of it.

Fortunately, today, the work of these philosophers is taken into account as it deserves and their ideas, despite the years, remain current. Madame Guyon, Elizabeth of Bohemia, Margaret Cavendish, Catharine Trtotter, Damaris Kudworth, Émilie Du Châtellet, Théroigne de Méricourt, Mary Wollstonecraft, among others, are the main representatives of the philosophy of modernity. If you want to know more, continue reading this lesson.

Index

1. Madame Guyon, one of the first philosophers of the Modern Age
2. Elizabeth of Bohemia, another of the great philosophers of modernity
3. Émilie de Châtelet, Physics and Mathematics of the Modern Age
4. Mary Wollstonecraft, philosopher and feminist

Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon (Montargis, April 13, 1648 - Blois, June 9, 1717) was a French mystic and declared heretic by the Catholic Church, which is why she was imprisoned after the publication of some of her works, such as, A short and easy method of prayer and his Commentary on the Song of Songs. Her ideas were of great influence throughout France and her maxims were considered by her followers as truths of the gospel.

She believed that to be a good Christian, the search for pure and disinterested love is required and that prayer, more than a request, should be an act of servility to the will of God. In addition, she assured that only mental prayer is perfect, without words, in silence. But what is truly controversial is that defended the independence of the Church and of her sacraments.

Her most important works are: autobiography in three volumes, Moyen court et très facile pour l'oraison, Le Cantique des Cantiques, and his version of the bible with notes and reflections.

Elizabeth of Bohemia and the Palatinate (Heidelberg, December 26, 1618-Herford, February 11, 1680), was a German aristocrat, philosopher and Calvinist religious, who befriended prestigious philosophers such as Descartes or Leibniz.

Descartes was his teacher of philosophy and morals, and even dedicated The principles of philosophy, as follows:

I also have another particular proof, since no other person known to me has understood in general and so adequately what is in my writings; moreover, some of the issues dealt with are considered very obscure by the most capable and learned spirits. In addition, I realize that almost everyone who understands the issues of metaphysics, and at On the contrary, those who easily cultivate these, do not easily follow those of the math. Thus, I can say that I have not met another person who followed with equal ease the one and the other and, for such a bowl I am assisted with reason to estimate your ability incomparable..

In their numerous letters, both thinkers dealt with issues such as dualism and relationship between the res Amplia and the res cogitans, that is, between the body and the soul, these being different entities. The explanations of Descartes, did not finish convincing the philosopher.

Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marchioness of Châtelet (Paris, December 17, 1706-Lunéville, September 10, 1749), she was a French mathematician and physicist who translated Newton's work into French and disseminated in her writings the theories of this. She is another of the leading philosophers of the Modern Age.

The philosopher, she maintained a sentimental relationship with Voltaire, whom she had known since childhood, and during all that time, Émilie de Châtelet dedicated herself to cultivate love and mind. Her studies focused mainly on English authors such as Locke and Mandeville and especially, she dedicated herself to studying algebra and physics, especially physical Newtonian her that she was opposed to the dominant Cartesianism at the time.

In addition, Émilie also collaborated in the works of Voltaire, since both worked in Newtonian physics. In fact, in Les Élements de la PhilosophieNewton's, the philosopher appears on the cover as a muse, highlighting, Voltaire in the prologue, the great contribution of Émilie to it, especially in the optics part.

Image: Exomundos

Mary Wollstonecraft (April 27, 1759 - September 10, 1797) was an English philosopher and writer, and one of the most important philosophers of modernity. The most representative work of her, Vindication of women's rights, she affirms that the existing differences between women and men are not by nature and that these are due to a cultural issue, since they do not receive the same education as them. Both are rational beings and must be treated as such. In addition, she defends a social order based on reason. This work establishes the foundations offeminismmodernand makes her a fundamental figure in the history of philosophy.

Wollstonecraft married the philosopher William Godwin, one of the pioneers of the anarchist movement. Together they had a daughter, Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein and wife of the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Following her death from Wollstonecraft, Godwin published memoirs of her life, where he reveals the philosopher's unconventional lifestyle, which shattered her reputation. But with the passage of time and thanks to her defense of equality between women and men, the philosopher's criticisms again gain importance. Today, her name is essential in the history of the feminist philosophy.

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Martino. G, Bruzzese, M. (Appendix, Spanish thinkers by Alicia Puleo). Philosophers. The leading women in the history of thought. Ed. Chair. 1994