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René Descartes Publishes "The Discourse on the Method"
René Descartes (1596-1650) published Discourse on Method in 1637 as part of a work containing sections on optics, geometry, and meteorology. The fourth section, the Discourse, outlined the basis for a new method of investigating knowledge.
This event is sometimes referred to as the start of the Age of Enlightenment. -
René Descartes Publishes "Meditations on First Philosophy"
Meditations on First Philosophy is a philosophical treatise by René Descartes first published in 1641 (in Latin). -
René Descartes Publishes "Principles of Philosophy"
Principia philosophiae (Principles of Philosophy), a Latin textbook at first intended by Descartes to replace the Aristotelian textbooks then used in universities. A French translation, Principes de philosophie by Claude Picot, under the supervision of Descartes, appeared in 1647 with a letter-preface to Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia. -
The Age of Enlightenment Begins
There is little consensus on the precise beginning of the age of Enlightenment; the beginning of the 18th century (1701) or the middle of the 17th century (1650) are often used as an approximate starting point -
John Locke Publishes "A Letter Concerning Toleration"
John Locke is listed among the greatest Enlightenment writers and as a major influence on David Hume. -
John Locke Publishes "Two Treatises of Government"
The Two Treatises of Government is a work of political philosophy published anonymously in 1689 by John Locke. The First Treatise attacks patriarchalism in the form of sentence-by-sentence refutation of Robert Filmer's Patriarcha and the Second Treatise -
John Locke Publishes "An Essay Cocerning Human Understanding"
First appearing in 1689 (although dated 1690) with the printed title An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke concerns the foundation of human knowledge and understanding. The essay was one of the principal sources of empiricism in modern philosophy, and influenced many enlightenment philosophers, such as David Hume and George Berkeley. -
John Locke Publishes "Some Thoughts Concerning Education"
The essay was one of the principal sources of empiricism in modern philosophy, and influenced many enlightenment philosophers, such as David Hume and George Berkeley. -
George Berkeley Publishes "An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision"
In 1709, Berkeley published his first major work, An Essay towards a New Theory of Vision, in which he discussed the limitations of human vision and advanced the theory that the proper objects of sight are not material objects, but light and colour. -
George Berkeley Publishes "A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge"
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge is a 1710 work by Anglo-Irish Empiricist philosopher George Berkeley. This book largely seeks to refute the claims made by his contemporary John Locke about the nature of human perception. -
David Hume is Born
This is his birth date according to the Gregoria calendar (New Style). He was bon in Edinburgh, Scotland to Joseph Home and Katherine Falconer. -
David Hume is Born
This is his birth date according to the Julian calendar (Old Style). -
Joseph Hume, Father of David Hume, Dies
His father died just after David's second birthday, “leaving me, with an elder brother and a sister under the care of our Mother, a woman of singular Merit, who, though young and handsome, devoted herself to the rearing and educating of her Children.” -
George Berkeley Publishes "Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous"
Three important concepts discussed in the Three Dialogues are perceptual relativity, the conceivability/master argument ("master argument" was coined by André Gallois[1]), and Berkeley's phenomenalism. -
David Hume Enrolls in the University of Edinburgh
About 1723 he entered the University of Edinburgh, and, according to his Autobiography, "passed through the ordinary course of education with success." His letters show that when he returned to Ninewells about three years later he had acquired a fair knowledge of Latin, slight acquaintance with Greek, and a literary taste inclining to "books of reasoning and philosophy, and to poetry and the polite authors." -
David Hume Enters a Business House
A too "ardent application" to his studies threatened his health, and in 1734, determined to try a complete change of scene and occupation, Hume entered a business house in Bristol. In a few months he found "the scene totally unsuitable," and he set out for France, resolved "to make a very rigid frugality supply my deficiency of fortune, to maintain unimpaired my independency, and to regard every object as contemptible, except the improvement of my talents in literature." -
David Hume Changes his Surname
He changed the spelling of his name in 1734, because the fact that his surname 'Home' was pronounced 'Hume' in Scotland was not known in England. -
David Hume Publishes Book 1 and 2 of "A Treatise of Human Nature"
It appeared in three volumes during 1739-1740. Contrary to his expectations, his first effort "fell deadborn from the press, without reaching such distinction as even to excite a murmur among the zealots." -
David Hume Publishes Book 3 of "A Treatise of Human Nature"
The Treatise is now in the public domain. Books 1 and 2 were originally published in 1739, while Book 3 was published in 1740. -
David Hume Publishes "Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding"
During his absence from England in 1748 his 'Philosophical Essays' was published. Afterwards entitled 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding', it was a recasting of the first part of the Treatise by which he hoped to gain a larger audience. But the first reception of the work was little more favourable than that accorded to the 'Treatise'. -
The Term "Enlightenment" is First Used to Describe the Era
The term 'Enlightenment' did not come into use in English until the mid-18th century,[6] with particular reference to French philosophy, as the equivalent of the French term 'Lumières' (used first by Dubos 1733 and already well established by 1751). From Immanuel Kant's 1784 essay "Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist Aufklärung?" ("Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment?") the German term became 'Aufklärung'. -
David Hume Publishes "An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals"
In 1751 he recast the third book of the 'Treatise' and published it as 'An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals' -
David Hume Publishes "Four Dissertations"
Four Dissertations is a collection of four essays by the Scottish enlightenment philosopher David Hume, first published in 1757. The four essays are:
The Natural History of Religion
Of the Passions
Of Tragedy
Of the Standard of Taste -
David Hume Publishes "My Own Life"
Penned in April, shortly before his death, this autobiography was intended for inclusion in a new edition of Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects. It was first published by Adam Smith who claimed that by doing so he had incurred "ten times more abuse than the very violent attack I had made upon the whole commercial system of Great Britain." -
David Hume Dies
He settled in Edinburgh where he lived until his death at the south-west corner of St. Andrew's Square in Edinburgh's New Town, at what is now 21 Saint David Street. (A popular story, consistent with some historical evidence, suggests the street was named after Hume.) -
French Revolution
This event is sometimes used as a convenient end to the Age of Enlightenment. -
The Era of Romanticism Begins
The Enlightenment flourished until about 1790–1800, after which the emphasis on reason gave way to Romanticism's emphasis on emotion, and a Counter-Enlightenment gained force. -
Napoleonic Wars
This event is sometimes used to conveniently mark the end of the Age of Enlightenment.