Ideas in seventeenth century France: the most important thinkers and the climate of ideas in which they worked

I. The intellectual situation in seventeenth-century France – Absolutism – Counter-Reformation and Neo-Scholasticism – The “new philosophy”: scientific revolution and early enlightenment – The changing world picture – II. Descartes – The formation of Descartes’ thought – The Discours de la methode – Descartes as scientist – The controversy Gassendi-Descartes – Malebranche: a modified Cartesian – Attitudes towards Descartes – III. Pascal – Biographical background and Pascal as scientist – Pascal and Jansenism: the Lettres provincials – The Pensees: Pascal on reason, man, and God – IV. Bossuet – The classical Catholic – The political theorist – The historian – V. Fenelon

The priest – The educationalist – The political and economist theorist – VI. Pierre Bayle – VII. Fontenelle.