The Making of the Modern Mind: A Survey of the Intellectual Background of the Present Age

This outstanding work on the history of philosophy and ideas, written by world-renowned philosopher, historian of philosophy, and teacher John Herman Randall, Jr., is now available for the first time in paperback. Long acclaimed a contemporary classic, The Making of the Modern Mind displays the comprehensiveness, clarity of style, balance, and wit that came to characterize all of Dr. Randall’s works.

From the medieval worldview to the modern outlook, this work presents a sweeping intellectual history in one volume. The emphasis is on ideas in their historical setting, on how modes of thought emerge, grow, influence and react to one another, and sometimes, when no longer useful, even die. The result is a grand synthesis of the main currents in western thought, bringing together religion, philosophy, politics, science, economics, literature and the arts, and the social and behavioral sciences – all the diverse systems man has devised in his effort to understand, interpret, and shape human experience.

Whether as a text or as a supplementary reading, this distinguished volume will complement a wide variety of courses in philosophy, history, and contemporary civilization. It can be read with pleasure by all those interested in the history of man and ideas.