Rethinking European Modernity: Reason, Power, and Coloniality in Early Modern Thought

This open access book undertakes a self-critical reinterpretation of European modernity and responds to the need for a global understanding of the development of Western thought. Showcasing contemporary Latin American approaches that align modernity with colonialism, and European theories of modernity, Hans Schelkshorn reassesses the origins of modernity. He brings neglected Renaissance thinkers into the narrative, discussing the work of Nicholas of Cusa, Pico della Mirandola, Francisco de Vitoria, and Michel de Montaigne, and critiquing the views of Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. Across a series of historical studies, Schelkshorn presents modernity as a complex process. His use of the concept 'de-limitations' (Entgrenzungen) shows how the new idea of an infinite universe and the discovery of the Americas deeply influenced the foundations of modern science, politics and economies in the 17th century. Making a major contribution to scholarship on early modern philosophy, Schelkshorn paves the way for a more cosmopolitan account of European thought. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Hans Schelkshorn

List of Figures Preface Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: A Self-Critical Reinterpretation of European Modernity in a Global Context Part I. Reason, Power and Coloniality: Three Paradigmatic Interpretations of Modernity 1. Modern Reason as Syndrome of Power? Martin Heidegger, Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno 2. The Enlightenment as an Unfinished Project: Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas 3. The Challenge of Decolonial Philosophies: The Case of Latin America 4. Summary and Preview Part II. Transcending Boundaries of the Cosmos and the Ecumene: A Retrospect on the Thought of the Renaissance 5. The De-Limitation of the Cosmos and the Revaluation of Insatiable Curiosity: Nicholas of Cusa 6. Freedom as Self-Creation: Pico della Mirandola's Oratio de hominis dignitate 7. The Conquest of America and the Foundations of Global Cosmopolitanism: Francisco De Vitoria and Juan Ginés De Sepúlveda 8. Experimental Self-Fashioning in an Unlimited World: Michel de Montaigne Part III. Foundations of Modern Science, Politics and Economy in the Philosophy of the Seventeenth Century 9. Francis Bacon's Vision of Modern Science and Limitless Technological Progress 10. Thomas Hobbes: The Foundation of Modern Politics Amid Escalating Social Conflicts 11. John Locke: The Justification of an Unlimited Market Economy 12. Epilogue: The Future of Modernity and the New Search for Self-Limitations Notes References Index of Names