One of the most important works of the Enlightenment-in the first new, unabridged English translation in more than two centuries
Published in four volumes between 1784 and 1791, Herder's Ideas for the Philosophy of the History of Mankind is one of the most important works of the Enlightenment-a bold, original, and encyclopedic synthesis of, and contribution to, the era's philosophical debates over nature, history, culture, and the very meaning of human experience. This is the first new, unabridged English translation of the Ideas in more than two centuries. Gregory Martin Moore's lively, modern English text, extensive introduction, and commentary bring this neglected masterpiece back to life.
The Ideas-which engages with many of the leading thinkers of the eighteenth century, such as Montesquieu, Kant, Gibbon, Ferguson, Buffon, and Rousseau-is many things at once: an inquiry into the unity and purpose of history, a reflection on human nature and the place of humans in the cosmic order, an examination of what was beginning to be called "culture," and a narrative of cultural progress across time among different peoples. Along the way, Herder considers a dizzying variety of topics, including the formation of the earth and solar system, species change, race, the immortality of the soul, the establishment of society, and the pursuit of happiness. Above all, the Ideas is an anthropology-what Alexander Pope had termed an "essay on man"-pervaded by an appropriately humane spirit.
A fresh and much-needed modern translation of the complete Ideas, this volume reintroduces English readers to a classic of Enlightenment thought. Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) was a German philosopher and historian. Gregory Martin Moore is associate professor of history at Georgia State University. He is the editor and translator of Herder's Shakespeare and his Selected Writings on Aesthetics (both Princeton) and the author of Nietzsche, Biology, and Metaphor. "Gregory Martin Moore's translation is altogether excellent. His massively learned introduction locates Herder's work in its intellectual and biographical context and provides a very useful guide to its argument."-Ritchie Robertson, author of The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness, 1680–1790
"Herder's Ideas ranks among the most original and daring works of Enlightenment thought. Gregory Martin Moore's translation is elegant and impressively accurate, his commentary provides balanced guidance to the reader, and his introduction offers an apt overview of the Ideas and its wider Enlightenment context."-Alexander Schmidt, Vanderbilt University "An eminently readable translation of Herder's 20 thematically dense 'books' published in four parts between 1784 and 1792, complete with Herder's outline for a never-published fifth volume."
