Pierre Bayle's Cartesian Metaphysics: Rediscovering Early Modern Philosophy

In his magnum opus, the Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697), Pierre Bayle engaged in a series of brilliant criticisms of the major philosophical positions of the 17 th Century. Through a careful analysis of Bayle?s critical encounters with the metaphysical systems of the modern philosophers, this book argues that despite his reputation as a skeptic Bayle was not without philosophical commitments. Unfortunately, this more positive facet of Bayle?s thought has been underappreciated by scholars of Early Modern philosophy. Thus there remains a genuine need for a detailed study of Bayle?s metaphysics and its relation to the scientific revolution of the seventeenth-century. This impressive volume will be of interest to historians of philosophy and anyone interested by Bayle.