Modern philosophy will determine the scope of one's use of "modern philosophy." How much of Renaissance intellectual history is part of modern philosophy is disputed: the Early Renaissance is often considered less modern and more medieval compared to the later High Renaissance. By the 17th and 18th centuries the major figures in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and metaphysics were roughly divided into two main groups. The "Rationalists," mostly in France and Germany, argued all knowledge must begin from certain "innate ideas" in the mind. Major rationalists were Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz, and Nicolas Malebranche. The "Empiricists," by contrast, held that knowledge
Michael Palmer (philosopher) Atheist's Creed", "The Atheist's Primer" has just been published by The Lutterworth Press (2012). Another volume on atheism - "Atheism for Beginners" - is projected for 2013. Dr Palmer is married with two grown-up children, and lives in Scotland and Italy. Michael Palmer (philosopher) Michael Palmer (born 1945) is an English philosopher, whose work has been translated into many languages. His primary field of interest is The Philosophy of Religion. More recently, however, his work has concentrated on the philosophy of atheism, culminating in his authorship of "The Atheist's Creed" (2010), "The Atheist's Primer" (2012) and the projected "Atheism for