A History of Western Philosophy

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1945

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Book 3, Part 1, Chapters 6-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 6 Summary: “The Rise of Science”

Russell claims that “Almost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to science”; in turn, “the new conceptions that science introduced profoundly influenced modern philosophy” (525). The four men most responsible for the formation of modern science were Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. The new science had several effects on philosophy. First, it was now understood that the laws of physics did not necessarily mimic the movement of animals; instead, the world was understood to work more like a machine. Second, scientists ceased to look for purpose in nature. Finally, the new scientific mastery brought about an attitude of human pride and desire for power.

Chapter 7 Summary: “Francis Bacon”

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was important as the “founder of [the] modern inductive method” (541) and as the one who made scientific procedure logical and systematic. Russell finds Bacon’s pure philosophy “unsatisfactory,” yet his contributions to science were indelible. Bacon is best known for the axiom “knowledge is power,” and he was among the first thinkers to suggest that philosophy and science could be used to help man gain “mastery over the forces of nature” (542). This outlook would become more prominent throughout the modern period.

Chapter 8 Summary: “Hobbes’ Leviathan”

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was a political philosopher with a pessimistic and skeptical view of human nature, government, and society. Taking a “thoroughgoing materialism” as his basis, Hobbes theorizes in Leviathan that fear and the desire for power are the fundamental motives of human action; therefore, government exists to secure peace and prevent anarchy, with a strong central authority a must. These theories were shocking to many at the time and Hobbes was censured by the English government. Hobbes was very much influenced by the scientific revolution of his day, and his theories proved influential in turn on successive political thinkers and revolutionaries.

Chapter 9 Summary: “Descartes”

Considered “the founder of modern philosophy” (557), René Descartes (1596- 1650) developed a new theory of knowledge and was strongly influenced by scientific developments, especially in physics and astronomy. Descartes attempted to build up a new basis for knowledge through a process of methodical doubt. Descartes realized that he could theoretically doubt everything except the fact that he was doubting; this very fact proved that he was thinking, and therefore that he existed (“Cogito ergo sum/I think, therefore I am”), and thus served as a basis for all further knowledge. Descartes recounted this philosophical adventure in his Meditations. Cartesian philosophy also explored how matter and spirit, or body and soul, interacted. Descartes concluded that all reality is governed by laws of physics.

Chapter 10 Summary: “Spinoza”

Born in the Netherlands of Portuguese Jewish descent, Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza (1632-1677) was an outsider in the world of philosophy. Russell considers him “the noblest and most lovable of the great philosophers” (569) because of his gentle, upright personal character and the serenity of his philosophy. Working mostly on his own and in spite of persecution by his religious community, Spinoza developed a philosophical system that departed substantially from traditional ideas while incorporating contemporary elements of science and determinism. Spinoza’s philosophy centered on God, whom he conceived as all-powerful and identical with nature (pantheism); his Ethics deduces a whole guide for human living from the basis of this idea of God.

Chapter 11: “Leibniz”

The German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) built on the work of Descartes and Spinoza. He based his philosophy on the idea of substance. He believed that the universe is made up of monads, or souls; he rejected the idea of matter and substituted for it the idea of soul. Thus, the entire universe is, in a sense, alive. Leibniz was also a mathematician and explored the concept of possibility. He wrote about how to prove the existence of God, which he demonstrated by first proving that the idea of God is possible. Leibniz is famous for the formulation that this is the “best of all possible worlds” (581).

Chapters 6-11 Analysis

Russell depicts the 17th century as a golden age for philosophy, which produced many of the philosophers who remain most famous and eminent today. Among the factors that led to the reemergence of philosophy after its eclipse in the 16th century were the growth of science and weariness with sectarian strife caused by the Protestant Reformation, which had created discourse heavily focused on theology.

Russell sees the rise of science as the decisive event in the development of modern thought. Indeed, he asserts that “almost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to science” (525). Russell highlights this idea in a chapter, “The Rise of Science,” that functions as an introduction to the period under review here. Because of the importance of science in this era, Russell devotes close attention to scientific (as opposed to philosophical) history, including such figures as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton. This focus also reflects his own preference for a science-based philosophical perspective, which may also influence his high estimation of 17th-century philosophy in general.

Discoveries in astronomy, physics, biology, and other sciences brought about a new curiosity about the way the universe and human nature works, and this put the spotlight back on philosophical questions. Many thinkers felt the need to move beyond the Scholastic thought of the previous era to find answers to life’s questions. At the same time, religion remained important, with nearly all of the 17th-century philosophers examining questions relating to the existence and nature of God—perhaps most notably Spinoza. However, Russell emphasizes that in contrast to the Middle Ages, such “theological” speculation now tended to be carried on independent of church authority, emphasizing the new individualism of the modern era.

Bacon, Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz are among the giants of 17th-century philosophy whom Russell highlights. Descartes set the tone for the era and in many ways sums up the intersection of philosophical concerns and the new scientific discoveries. Among all these philosophers, Russell’s assessment of Spinoza is the most positive and even affectionate, yet he also engages in a close and sympathetic critique of Spinoza’s thought in Pages 578–580. Russell’s chapter on Leibniz—in whose thought he was a specialist—shows his tendency to highlight the relationship or contrast between a philosopher’s thought and his life.