-Is a period in the history of philosophy at the

beginning or overlapping with the period known

as modern philosophy.
 EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY
 The rise of Modern Philosophy can be attributed
to certain historical and cultural changes that
happened during the Enlightenment: The Age
Of Reason.

 Among the changes were the

advancement in science, the growth of religious
tolerance and the rise of liberalism (promotion
of liberty and equality)
 The Early Enlightenment: 1685-1730

 The High Enlightenment: 1730-1780

 The Late Enlightenment and Beyond: 1780-1815

EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY

We do not describe the world RENE DESCARTES

we see; we see the world we
describe.
• "Father of Modern
Philosophy"
• French philosopher,
mathematician, scientist
and writer of the Age of
Reason
• Major contributions: Mind-
body Dualism, Hyperbolic
Doubt, World of Senses
EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY

BARUCH SPINOZA
• Became famous for his
belief that absolutely
everything, including
human behavior, occurs
through the operation of
necessity, leaving
absolutely no room for free
will and spontaneity
EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY

“One and the same thing can at the

same time be good, bad, and
indifferent, e.g., music is good to
the melancholy, bad to those who
mourn, and neither good nor bad to
the deaf”
EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY

GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ

• Postulated the concept of

“monads”—the ultimate
element of the universe from
which all things, including
human beings and God
himself, are made of
EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY
IMMANUEL KANT

1. The human mind creates the

structure of human experience
2. Reason is the source of morality
3. Aesthetics arises from a faculty
of disinterested judgment
4. Space and time are forms of
our sensibility
5. The world as it is “in-itself” is
independent of our concepts of
it
EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY
IMMANUEL KANT

• Major contributions:
Transcendental philosophy,
Categorical Imperative, A priori
versus A posteriori,
Transcendental schemata
EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY
DAVID HUME
• Defended the skeptical position
that human reason is inherently
contradictory, and it is only
through naturally-instilled beliefs
that we can navigate our way
through common life

• Argued that it is unreasonable to believe

testimonies of alleged miraculous events, and
he hints that we should reject religions that are
founded on miracle testimonies