Jonathan Israel Books

The book presents a comprehensive analysis of the Enlightenment, emphasizing the divide between conservative and radical philosophical currents rather than the significance of national movements. Jonathan Israel delves into primary texts to provide a fresh interpretation of Enlightenment thought, highlighting the underlying tensions that shaped its development. This reinterpretation challenges conventional views and sheds light on the complexities of philosophical discourse during this pivotal era.

Jonathan Israel's radical new account of the late Enlightenment highlights forgotten currents and figures. Running counter to mainstream thinking, he demonstrates how a group of philosophe-revolutionnaires provided the intellectual powerhouse of the French Revolution, and how their ideas connect with modern Western democracy.

The Dutch Golden Age, known for its renowned artists and writers, was also remarkable for its immense impact on the spheres of commerce, finance, shipping, and technology. Israel gives the definitive account of the emergence of the United Provinces as a great power, its subsequent decline in the 18th century, and the changing relationship between the northern Netherlands and the south, which was to develop into modern Belgium. 32 color plates.

Focusing on the religious, social, and commercial networking of the western Sephardic Jewish diaspora and the 'New Christian' diaspora from the mid-sixteenth to mid-eighteenth century, this volume explores their significant roles within the major European maritime empires. It delves into diaspora formation, Sephardic social practices, and themes like crypto-Judaism and religious syncretism. The book presents new insights into how these diasporas contributed to European expansion and cross-cultural exchanges during a transformative period in history.

Exploring the impact of Spinoza's philosophy, this study reveals how his ideas contributed to the emergence of radical Enlightenment principles such as equality, democracy, and secularism. Jonathan I. Israel, a prominent cultural historian, argues that these revolutionary concepts laid the groundwork for the intellectual and political upheavals of the late eighteenth century. The book offers a fresh perspective on the connections between Enlightenment thought and modern societal structures.

Jonathan Israel's "Enlightenment Contested" offers a major reassessment of the Western Enlightenment, focusing on the first half of the 18th century. He explores the roots of modern principles like reason, democracy, and equality, highlighting the struggle between anti-democratic mainstream and repressed radical ideas. The book emphasizes the interconnectedness of various Enlightenments across Europe.

A major intellectual history of the American Revolution and its influence on later revolutions in Europe and the AmericasThe Expanding Blaze is a sweeping history of how the American Revolution inspired revolutions throughout Europe and the Atlantic world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Jonathan Israel, one of the world's leading historians of the Enlightenment, shows how the radical ideas of the American founders set the pattern for democratic revolutions, movements, and constitutions in France, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Greece, Canada, Haiti, Brazil, and Spanish America. The book traces how American efforts to implement Radical Enlightenment ideas drove revolutions abroad, as foreign leaders followed the American example and espoused American democratic values. The first major new intellectual history of the age of democratic revolution in decades, The Expanding Blaze returns the American Revolution to its global context.

The book explores the divergence between radical and conservative Enlightenment ideologies, highlighting the tension between the pursuit of a just society and the influence of religion and secularization. It examines how societal interests were nearly overshadowed by concepts that favored the privileged, illustrating the struggle between egalitarian ideals and entrenched power structures during this transformative period.

Focusing on the Radical Enlightenment, this work articulates Jonathan Israel's pivotal ideas regarding its influence on modern democratic values. It serves as a comprehensive statement for both seasoned readers and newcomers, offering clear and concise arguments alongside significant expansions of his scholarship. This book stands as a masterful introduction to the contributions of one of the foremost scholars in Enlightenment studies, making it an essential read for understanding the era's impact on contemporary thought.

Historians of the French Revolution used to take for granted what was also obvious to its contemporary observers--that the Revolution was shaped by the radical ideas of the Enlightenment. Yet in recent decades, scholars have argued that the Revolution was brought about by social forces, politics, economics, or culture--almost anything but abstract