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
Jonathan Bennett (philosopher) Bennett has written extensively on philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, events, conditionals, and consequentialist ethics. He is particularly renowned for his interpretations of major early modern philosophers and he has written five books in this area.. A Festschrift to commemorate his 60th birthday was published in 1990. Bennett's website is devoted to making the texts of early modern philosophers more accessible to today's students. Books Selected journal articles Jonathan Bennett (philosopher) Jonathan Francis Bennett (born 17 February 1930) is a British philosopher of language and metaphysics, and a historian of early modern philosophy. Jonathan Bennett was born in Greymouth,