Infinity in Early Modern Philosophy

This volume contains essays that examine infinity in early modern philosophy. The essays not only consider the ways that key figures viewed the concept. They also detail how these different beliefs about infinity influenced major philosophical systems throughout the era. These domains include mathematics, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, science, and theology.

Coverage begins with an introduction that outlines the overall importance of infinity to early modern philosophy. It then moves from a general background of infinity (before early modern thought) up through Kant. Readers will learn about the place of infinity in the writings of key early modern thinkers. The contributors profile the work of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant.

Debates over infinity significantly influenced philosophical discussion regarding the human condition and the extent and limits of human knowledge. Questions about the infinity of space, for instance, helped lead to the introduction of a heliocentric solar system as well as the discovery of calculus. This volume offers readers an insightful look into all this and more. It provides a broad perspective that will help advance the present state of knowledge on this important but often overlooked topic.

Ohad Nachtomy works on early modern philosophy, philosophy and history of biology, Wittgenstein’s philosophy, and multicultural theory (especially in the Israeli context). His publications include over forty articles and the following books: Living Mirrors: Infinity, Unity, and Life in Leibniz's Philosophy, Oxford University Press Possibility, 2019; Agency, and Individuality in Leibniz’s Metaphysics, Springer, 2007; The Life Sciences in Early Modern Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 2014, coedited with Justin E. H. Smith; Machines of Nature and Corporeal Substances in Leibniz, Springer, 2010, coedited with Justin E. H. Smith; The Multicultural Challenge in Israel (eds.), Academic Studies Press, 2009, coedited with Avi Sagi; and Examining Multiculturalism in Israel (in Hebrew), Magnes Press, 2003. He is currently a member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. 

Reed Winegar’s research focuses on early modern philosophy, Kant, and German Idealism. He has published papers with the Archiv fur Geschichte der Philosophie, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, European Journal of Philosophy, Hegel Bulletin, Kantian Review, and Journal of Scottish Philosophy. He also has contributed to the volumes Kant and the Scottish Enlightenment (Routledge) and Freedom and Nature (de Gruyter). In 2015-16 he was a VolkswagenStiftung/Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities at the Freie Universitat Berlin, and in summer 2018 he was a guest professor at the Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin.