Siep Stuurman is Emeritus Professor of the History of Ideas at Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

• Preface Notes on Spelling Introduction: Origins of the Enlightenment 1. The Making of a Philosopher 2. The Feminist Impulse 3. Cartesian Equality 4. The Power of Education 5. Reason and Authority 6. Anthropology and History 7. The Road to Geneva 8. Rational Christianity Conclusion: Inventing the Enlightenment Acknowledgments Notes Index

This is a brilliant work: vastly original, deeply learned, and urgently needed. For the first time it gives Poulain, little known until recent decades, the full treatment warranted by the philosophical breakthrough he effected. The writing is superb. Stuurman makes dense philosophical arguments accessible without oversimplifying, and has an unusually good sense of what the reader needs to be told as he moves through his presentation. The book will without question assume an important place in Enlightenment scholarship and stimulate debate over the origins of modern liberal social thought.

Siep Stuurman is Emeritus Professor of the History of Ideas at Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

• Preface Notes on Spelling Introduction: Origins of the Enlightenment 1. The Making of a Philosopher 2. The Feminist Impulse 3. Cartesian Equality 4. The Power of Education 5. Reason and Authority 6. Anthropology and History 7. The Road to Geneva 8. Rational Christianity Conclusion: Inventing the Enlightenment Acknowledgments Notes Index

This is a brilliant work: vastly original, deeply learned, and urgently needed. For the first time it gives Poulain, little known until recent decades, the full treatment warranted by the philosophical breakthrough he effected. The writing is superb. Stuurman makes dense philosophical arguments accessible without oversimplifying, and has an unusually good sense of what the reader needs to be told as he moves through his presentation. The book will without question assume an important place in Enlightenment scholarship and stimulate debate over the origins of modern liberal social thought.

Siep Stuurman is Emeritus Professor of the History of Ideas at Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

• Preface Notes on Spelling Introduction: Origins of the Enlightenment 1. The Making of a Philosopher 2. The Feminist Impulse 3. Cartesian Equality 4. The Power of Education 5. Reason and Authority 6. Anthropology and History 7. The Road to Geneva 8. Rational Christianity Conclusion: Inventing the Enlightenment Acknowledgments Notes Index

This is a brilliant work: vastly original, deeply learned, and urgently needed. For the first time it gives Poulain, little known until recent decades, the full treatment warranted by the philosophical breakthrough he effected. The writing is superb. Stuurman makes dense philosophical arguments accessible without oversimplifying, and has an unusually good sense of what the reader needs to be told as he moves through his presentation. The book will without question assume an important place in Enlightenment scholarship and stimulate debate over the origins of modern liberal social thought.