Table Of ContentThe Formation of the Modern Self
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The Formation of the Modern Self
Reason, Happiness and the Passions from
Montaigne to Kant
Felix Ó Murchadha
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
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First published in Great Britain 2022
Copyright © Felix Ó Murchadha, 2022
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Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.
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Cover image: Ad Parnassum, Paul Klee (1932)
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To Markus Wörner, as a token of gratitude, friendship and respect
vi
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 Four faces of the self in the emergence of modernity 7
1.1 Grace and responsibility 8
1.2 Freedom and tranquillity: Stoicism and Scepticism 17
1.3 World, God and origins: Modern transformations 22
1.4 The self and crisis 30
2 Montaigne: Sceptical alterity 41
2.1 Openness to the strange 43
2.2 Experience 50
2.3 Language and self 53
2.4 Contingency and constancy 56
2.5 Faith and reason 64
3 Descartes, Pascal and the ambiguity of the self 69
3.1 Cartesian will / Pascalian heart 72
3.2 The sceptical moment 80
3.3 The beginnings and ends of philosophy 88
3.4 God: Creation and salvation 97
3.5 Evil, ethics and the passions 101
4 Spinoza and Hume on the good life 113
4.1 The aims of philosophy 114
4.2 Genesis and nature of ideas 121
4.3 Substance and cause 128
4.4 The passions and tranquillity 134
4.5 God and the state 142
5 Desire, aporia and reason in Kant 151
5.1 The desire of reason 154
5.2 Antinomic reason and Schwärmerei 158
5.3 Nature and freedom 165
viii Contents
6 Kant on the heart, evil and grace (starting from Rousseau) 171
6.1 The will and the heart 171
6.2 Radical evil, grace and the Kingdom of God 176
Conclusion 189
Notes 193
Bibliography 231
Index 243
Acknowledgements
A book such as this one, which has gone through a long germination, owes more than
can be adequately said to many people.
The first to introduce me to Modern Philosophy was Edwin Rabbitte in University
College Galway (known today as the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG))
many years ago. In his quiet but compelling way, he first initiated me into philosophy
as ‘radical thinking’ – getting to the roots of things – and this inspiration has never
lessened.
Klaus Held and Heinrich Hüni of Bergische Universität Wuppertal taught me how
to read historical texts phenomenologically. I owe them both a debt of gratitude.
I was extremely fortunate to receive a Fulbright grant to spend a year in New York at
Fordham University. I am most grateful to the Fulbright Commission for this funding.
Colleen Dube and Sonya McGuinness in the Dublin Fulbright office were wonderfully
supportive. John Drummond and Merold Westphal were gracious hosts at Fordham,
as was the departmental administrator Margaret Donavon, who looked out for a fellow
Irish person!
In New York, I experienced the true splendour of American libraries. The New York
Public Library (NYPL) was my refuge for weeks on end. Special thanks are due to Jay
Barksdale at the NYPL for facilitating my use of the Wertheim Study Room in the
library. The magnificent William D. Walsh Library at Fordham was also a wonderful
resource.
Crucial to a good sabbatical is that it works for all involved. For my son, Felix
Alexander, the welcome he received at St. Ignatius Loyola School in the Upper East
Side was warm and reassuring. The teachers and fellow parents of the school helped
make our stay in New York so much richer.
My thinking on the themes of this book have been inspired by many conversations
with colleagues, friends and doctoral students over the years. In this respect, particular
thanks should go to Babette Babich, Dominic Balestra, Rebecca Barr, David Beirne,
Dan Bradley, Aengus Daly, William Desmond, Tsarina Doyle, John Drummond, Ricca
Edmondson, Rolf Elberfeld, Marty Fairbairn, Ane Faugstad-Aarø, Jennifer Gosetti-
Ferencei, Erin Flynn, Niall Keane, Róisin Lally, Sebastian Luft, Charlotte McIvor, Anne
O’Byrne, Veronica O’Neill, Gino Querini, Andrea Rehberg, Trine Riel, John Roe, Inga
Römer, Rod Stoneman, Lazlo Tengelyi, Merold Westphal and Markus Wörner (to
whom this book is dedicated).
The reflections which led to this book arose as a direct result of teaching
undergraduate classes in Modern Philosophy at NUI Galway. I am grateful to the
students who attended those classes for their questions and their patience. Barbara
Preston and Jonathan O’Rourke helped immensely as undergraduate research
assistants in researching the book.
