An international quarterly devoted to intellectual history.

The 'history of ideas', better known these days as intellectual history, is a flourishing field of study which has been the object of much controversy but hardly any historical exploration. This major new work from Donald R. Kelley is the first comprehensive history of intellectual history, tracing the study of the history of thought from ancient, medieval and early modern times, its emergence as the 'history of ideas' in the 18th century, and its subsequent expansion. The point of departure for this study is the perspective opened up by Victor Cousin in the early 19th-century on 'Eclecticism' and its association with the history of philosophy established by Renaissance scholars. Kelley considers a broad range of topics, including the rivalry between 'ideas' and language, the rise of cultural history, the contributions of certain 19th- and 20th-century practitioners of the history of ideas in interdisciplinary areas of philosophy, literature and the sciences, and finally the current state of intellectual history. The central theme of the book is the interplay between the canon of philosophical thought and the tradition of language and textual study, the divergence of the latter marking the 'descent of ideas' into the realm of cultural history.

Considered second only to Confucius in the history of Chinese thought, Mencius (371?-289 b.c.), was a moral philosopher whose arguments, while pragmatically rooted in the political and social conditions of his time, go beyond particular situations to probe their origins and speculate on their larger implications. His writings constitute a living tradition in China and the world at large. Sinological studies of Mencius have long emphasized philological and archaeological research, situating the texts mainly in Chinese history. Critical appraisal of the texts lends itself to Western traditions of interpretation.

Over a period of several centuries, the academic study of risk has evolved as a distinct body of thought, which continues to influence conceptual developments in fields such as economics, management, politics and sociology. However, few scholarly works have given a chronological account of cultural and intellectual trends relating to the understanding and analysis of risks. Risk: A Study of its Origins, History and Politics aims to fill this gap by providing a detailed study of key turning points in the evolution of society's understanding of risk. Using a wide range of primary and secondary materials, Matthias Beck and Beth Kewell map the political origins and moral reach of some of the most influential ideas associated with risk and uncertainty at specific periods of time. The historical focus of the book makes it an excellent introduction for readers who wish to go beyond specific risk management techniques and their theoretical underpinnings, to gain an understanding of the history and politics of risk.

This title was first published in 2001. A collection of previously published essays addressed to Leibniz’s metaphysics, philosophy of science, theories of language and logic, philosophy of mind and theology.

Originally published in 1969. Ideas about Substance is a part of the "Seminars in the History of Ideas" series at Johns Hopkins University Press.

Medieval discussions of mental representation were constrained in essential ways by Thomas Aquinas' doctrine of intelligible species. Aquinas' view of a formal mediation of sensible reality in intellectual knowledge was not universally accepted. In particular, after his death, a long series of controversies developed about the necessity of intelligible species. (These were analyzed in the first volume of this study.) The first part of this book deals with Renaissance controversies, discussing Peripatetics, Neoplatonics, and a group of relatively independent authors. In the second part, developments of late Scholasticism, and the elimination of the intelligible species in modern non-Aristotelian philosophy are scrutinized. Particular attention is paid to the possible roots of the seventeenth-century theories of ideas in traditional philosophy.

'A groundbreaking study ... a masterclass in how to do intellectual history, and one that nobody with an interest in radical Islam should miss' Tom Holland, New Statesman 'Readers looking for a rigorous but lucid account of Islamic State's ideas will be well-served by Maher's book ... the first of its kind' Kyle W. Orton, Wall Street Journal No topic has gripped the public imagination so dramatically as the spectre of global jihadism. While much has been said about the way jihadists behave, their ideology remains poorly understood. Shiraz Maher charts the intellectual underpinnings of salafi-jihadism from its origins in the mountains of the Hindu Kush to the jihadist insurgencies of the 1990s and the 9/11 wars. His ground-breaking introduction to salafi-jihadism recalibrates our understanding of the ideas underpinning one of the most destructive political philosophies of our time. 'Magisterial ... Essential reading' Robin Yassin-Kassab, The National 'Shiraz Maher, a leading authority on contemporary Islamic extremism, traces the evolution of the key ideas behind one of the most significant religious and political movements of our time. Comprehensive, important and timely' Jason Burke, author of Al-Qaeda 'A work of genuine interest and originality ... indispensable' David Patrikarakos, Literary Review

The interplay between knowledge and religion forms a pivotal component of how early modern individuals and societies understood themselves and their surroundings. Knowledge of the self in pursuit of salvation, humanistic knowledge within a confessional education, as well as inherently subversive knowledge acquired about religion(s) offer instructive instances of this interplay. To these are added essays on medical knowledge in its religious and social contexts, the changing role of imagination in scientific thought, the philosophical and political problems of representation, and attempts to counter Enlightenment criteria of knowledge at the end of the period, serving here as multifaceted studies of the dynamics and shifts in sensitivity and stress in the interplay between knowledge and religion within evolving early modern contexts.

Economics, as intellectual discourse, is not a settled body of principles; it is a heterogeneous discipline with numerous traditions, each based on a cluster of theories. Ekelund and Hebert, experienced researchers and educators, balance continuity and consensus in the evolution of economic theory with alternative points of view about the nature, scope, and method of economic inquiry. Their creative approach gives readers a feel for the thought processes of the great minds in economics and underscores key ideas impacting contemporary thought and practice. Building on the solid foundation of previous editions, the fifth edition of A History of Economic Theory and Method presents an updated and expanded examination of the essential theoretical elements of an economy and the numerous institutions that affect market behavior, beginning with the ancient Greeks and ending with the late twentieth century. It features an in-depth interpretation of the transition from classical to neoclassical economic thought, exposes some of the dissident voices raised against classical economic orthodoxy, discusses game theory, takes a close look at the origins of traditional microeconomics, avoids highly technical or graphically complicated material, and examines the advantages and disadvantages of economics achieving a scientific statusapplying mathematical and statistical techniques in economic inquiry. Chapters contain boxed material that enrich touchstone ideas or mark procedural disagreements and alternative approaches to economics.