Age of Crisis: Man and World in Eighteenth Century French Thought (Paperback)
Originally published in 1959. This book examines the French Enlightenment by analyzing critical thought in eighteenth-centruy France. It examines the philosophes' views on evil, free will and determinism, and human nature. This is an interesting group to look at, according to Crocker, because French Enlightenment thinkers straddled two vastly different time periods.
Lester G. Crocker (1912-2002) was a professor of History at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Virginia. He specialized in French literature and Enlightenment philosophy. He is also the author of Nature and Culture: Ethical Thought in the French Enlightenment, Rousseau's Social Contract: An Interpretive Essay, and Diderot's Chaotic Order: Approach and Synthesis.