History of the Intellectual Development of Europe

Draper's History of the Intellectual Development of Europe in 2 volumes is a book based on an original and challenging idea of applying the methods of physical science to history. The author has undertaken the labor of arranging the evidence offered by the intellectual history of Europe in accordance with physiological principles, so as to illustrate the orderly progress of civilization, or collected the facts furnished by other branches of science with a view of enabling us to recognize clearly the conditions under which that progress takes place. Seen thus through the medium of physiology, history presents a new aspect to humanity as people gain a more just and thorough appreciation of the thoughts and motives of men in successive ages of the world.

Contents:

On the Government of Nature by Law

Of Europe: Its Topography and Ethnology

Digression on Hindu Theology and Egyptian Civilization

Greek Age of Inquiry

The Greek Age of Faith

The Greek Age of Reason

The Greek Age of Intellectual Decrepitude

Digression on the History and Philosophical Influences of Rome

The European Age of Inquiry

The European Age of Faith

The Age of Faith in the West

Digression on the Passage of the Arabians to Their Age of Reason

The Age of Faith in the West. The Three Attacks: Northern or Moral; Western or Intellectual; Eastern or Military

Approach of the Age of Reason in Europe

Digression on the Condition of England at the End of the Age of Faith

The European Age of Reason

The Union of Science and Industry

Conclusion – The Future of Europe