Sir Anthony Kenny's engaging new history of Western philosophy now advances into the modern era. The Rise of Modern Philosophy is the fascinating story of the emergence, from the early sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, of great ideas and intellectual systems that shaped modern thought. Kenny introduces us to some of the world's most original and influential thinkers, and shows us the way to an understanding of their famous works. The thinkers we meet include Rene Descartes, traditionally seen as the founder of modern philosophy; the great British philosophers Hobbes, Locke, and Hume; and the towering figure of Immanuel Kant, who perhaps more than any other made philosophy what it is today. In the first three chapters Kenny tells the story chronologically: his lively accessible narrative brings the philosophers to life and fills in the historical and intellectual background to their work. It is ideal as the first thing to read for someone new to the history of modern philosophy.In the seven chapters that follow Kenny looks closely at each of the main areas of philosophical exploration in this period: knowledge and understanding; the nature of the physical universe; metaphysics (the most fundamental questions there are about existence); mind and soul; the nature and content of morality; political philosophy; and God. A selection of intriguing and beautiful illustrations offer a vivid evocation of the human and social side of philosophy. Anyone who is interested in how our understanding of ourselves and our world developed will find this a book a pleasure to read.

安東尼·肯尼爵士係牛津大學常務副校長，曾任貝列爾學院(Balliol College)院長和羅德學院(Rhodes House)院長。自20世紀60年代以來，肯尼一直是牛津大學哲學係成員，並且是許多美國大學的客座教授。他是英國科學院前任主席和英國圖書館館長。

中國社會科學院研究生院哲學博士，北京第二外國語學院比較文學與跨文化研究所副教授，中華美學學會副秘書長，中華美學學會美育學術委員會副主任，《美學》與《中國藝術教育》雜誌編委。主要學術興趣為美學、美育學與比較文學。

主要著作有《康德與中國現代美學思想》和《多維視野中的美育》等。閤著有《思辨的想象——20世紀中國美學主題史》《知識經濟時代的美學與設計》和《美國藝術教育新颱階》等。譯著有《環境美學——自然、藝術與建築的鑒賞》和《中國人的生活智慧》等。