Early modern philosophy Early modern philosophy Early modern philosophy (also classical modern philosophy) is a period in the history of philosophy at the beginning or overlapping with the period known as modern philosophy. The early modern period in history is roughly 1500–1789, but the label "early modern philosophy" is usually used to refer to a more specific period of time. In the narrowest sense, the term is used to refer principally to the philosophy of the 17th century, posited to have begun with René Descartes; to have included Thomas Hobbes, Blaise Pascal, Baruch Spinoza; and to have ended with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and
Peter Osborne (philosopher) 1988. Entitled "The carnival of philosophy: philosophy, politics and science in Hegel and Marx", it no doubt formed some of the material for the more recently published "How to Read Marx" (Granta magazine, 2005), the fifth chapter of which recalls its title. A central influence on Osborne's thought has been the work of German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, who figures in his early essays concerning the problem of modernity and the crisis in the visual arts Osborne's first book, "The Politics of Time: Modernity and Avant-Gard"e (Verso Books, 1995, reprinted 2011) was reflective of his general understanding of the modern