In the 17th century, described as "the century of genius" by the great modern philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, the importance of physics and mathematics in philosophy increased as traditional medieval theology declined. This challenging volume, edited by Stuart Hampshire, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, contains representative passages from the basic writings of such renowned thinkers as Bacon, Galileo, Hobbes, Descartes, Pascal, Spinoza, and Leibniz, linked by an interpretive commentary and an explanation of how their ideas led to the modern disciplines of philosophy.