Jefferson and Nature

Fülszöveg

U.S. History A Johns Hopkins Paperback
"The most thorough and reliable treatment of the subject we have. . . . Exceptionally clear, thoughtful, and accessible to specialists and nonspecialists alike, this book is a valuable addition to studies of Jefferson."—American Historical Review
"By following a central idea in Jefferson's thought with a thoroughness that will probably never be repeated, Miller has illuminated the internal connections brilliantly. His study is at the same time a fascinating introduction into major scientific debates of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century."—Joyce Appleby, University of California, Los Angeles
Jefferson and Nature is the first comprehensive study to take Jefferson completely at his word—bis favorite word. Nature—the term and the many ideas associated with it—pervades Jefferson's life and writings. It sets him apart from his colleagues in the American Enlightenment and provides the distinctive gateway to bis thought and action.... Tovább

Fülszöveg

U.S. History A Johns Hopkins Paperback
"The most thorough and reliable treatment of the subject we have. . . . Exceptionally clear, thoughtful, and accessible to specialists and nonspecialists alike, this book is a valuable addition to studies of Jefferson."—American Historical Review
"By following a central idea in Jefferson's thought with a thoroughness that will probably never be repeated, Miller has illuminated the internal connections brilliantly. His study is at the same time a fascinating introduction into major scientific debates of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century."—Joyce Appleby, University of California, Los Angeles
Jefferson and Nature is the first comprehensive study to take Jefferson completely at his word—bis favorite word. Nature—the term and the many ideas associated with it—pervades Jefferson's life and writings. It sets him apart from his colleagues in the American Enlightenment and provides the distinctive gateway to bis thought and action. By no means consistent and at times apparently opportunistic in his use of the term, Jefferson nevertheless draws nearly every realm of life back to this essential word and idea. Charles MiUer's book teUs why this is so.
"Not a systematic philosophy, but a convenient 'myth for all purposes,' nature meant whatever Jefferson wanted it to mean; it is the key that unlocks Jefferson's universe. This is profound intellectual history."— Library Journal
"A generally persuasive and sometimes insightful analysis of the naturahstic basis of Jefferson's intellectual life that is a welcome addition to Jeffersonian scholarship."—William and Mary Quarterly
Charles A. Miller is professor of politics at Lake Forest College. He is the author of The Supreme Court and the Uses of History, A Catawba Assembly, and Isn't That Lewis Carroll?
The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore and London Vissza